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JOAN  CF  ARO 


Copyright,    1 901 

By 

THE    UNIVERSITY    SOCIETY 


COLLEi 
LIBRAf 

HENRY  VI.— Parts  I.,  II.,  and  III.   i^^  i 

Preface. 

First  Editions.  (I.)  The  First  Part  of  Henry  the  Sixth 
was  in  all  probability  printed  for  the  first  time  in  the  First 
Folio.  On  November  8th,  1623,  Blount  &  Jaggard  en- 
tered, among  other  copies  of  Shakespeare's  works  "  not 
formerly  entered  to  other  men,"  "  the  Thirde  Parte  of 
Henry  the  Sixt,"  by  which  term  they  evidently  referred  to 
the  play  which,  chronologically  considered,  precedes  the 
Second  and  Third  Parts. 

The  opening  lines  of  the  play  are  sufficient  to  render  it 
well-nigh  certain  that  i  Henry  FA  is  not  wholly  Shake- 
speare's ;*  and  there  can  be  Httle  doubt  that  "  the  hand  of 
the  Great  Master  is  only  occasionally  perceptible  "  therein. 
Probably  we  have  here  an  inferior  production  by  sor^e  un- 
known dramatist,!  writing  about  1589,  to  which  Shake- 
speare made  important  "  additions  "  in  the  year  1591  ;  to 
him  may  safely  be  assigned  the  greater  part  of  Act  IV. 
ii.-vii.,  especially  the  Talbot  episodes  (Scene  vii.,  in  spite 
of  its  rhyme,  has  the  Shakespearian  note,  and  is  note- 
worthy from  the  point  of  view  of  literary  history)  ;  the 
wooing  of  Margaret  by  Suffolk  (V.  iii.)  has,  too,  some- 

*  Cp.  Coleridge,  "  If  you  do  not  feel  the  impossibility  of  [these 
lines]  having  been  written  by  Shakespeare,  all  I  dare  suggest  is, 
that  you  may  have  ears, — for  so  has  another  animal, — but  an  ear 
you  can  not  have,  me  judice." 

fDr.  Furnivall  sees  at  least  four  hands  in  the  play;  Mr.  Fleay 
assigns  it  to  Peele,  Marlowe,  Lodge  or  Nash,  and  Shakespeare. 
The  attempt  to  determine  the  authorship  is  futile,  owing  to  the 
absence  of  all  evidence  on  the  point. 


Preface  PARTS  I..  II.,  AND  III..  OF 

thing  of  Shakespeare's  touch  ;  finally,  there  is  the  Temple 
Garden  scene  (11.  iv.),  which  is  certainly  Shakespeare's, 
though,  judged  by  metrical  peculiarities,  it  may  well  have 
been  added  some  years  after  159/.  We  may  be  sure  that 
at  no  time  in  his  career  could  he  have  been  guilty  of  the 
crude  and  vulgar  presentment  of  Joan  of  Arc  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  play. 

(II.)  The  Second  and  Third  Parts  of  Henry  the  Sixth, 
forming  together  a  two-section  play,  have  come  down  to 
us  in  two  versions: — {a)  The  Folio  version,  authorized 
by  Shakespeare's  editors;  {h)  a  carelessly  printed  early 
Quarto  version,  differing  in  many  important  respects  from 
(a)  ;  about  3240  lines  in  the  Quarto  edition  appear  either 
in  the  same  or  an  altered  form  in  the  Folio  edition,  while 
about  2740  lines  in  the  latter  are  entirely  new.*  The  title- 
pages  of  the  first  Quartos,  corresponding  to  Parts  I.  and 
11.  respectively,  are  as  follows: — (i.)  "The  First  part  of 
the  Con  |  tention  betwixt  the  two  famous  houses  of  Yorke 
I  and  Lancaster,  with  the  death  of  the  good  |  Duke  Hum- 
phrey I  And  the  banishment  and  death  of  the  Duke  of  | 
Suffolk,  and  the  Tragicall  end  of  the  proud  Cardinall  |  of 
Winchester,  with  the  notable  Rebellion  |  of  lacke  Cade: 
And  the  Duke  of  Yorke's  first  claime  vnto  the  \  Crozvne. 
London.  Printed  by  Thomas  Creed,  for  Thomas  Mill- 
ington,  I  and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  shop  vnder  Saint  Peter's 
I  Church  in  Cornwall.  1594.!  [Quarto  i.]  (ii.)  ''The  | 
true  Tragedie  of  Richard  |  Duke  of  Yorke,  and  the  death 
of  I  good  King  Henrie  the  Sixt,  |  ivith  the  zvhole  conten- 
tion betzveene  \  the  two  Houses  Lancaster  |  and  Yorke, 
as  it  was  sundrie  times  |  acted  by  the  Right  Honoura  | 
ble  the  Earle  of  Pembrooke  his  Seruants.  |  Printed  at 
London  by  P.  S.  for  Thomas  Milling-  |  ton,  and  are  to 
be  sold  at  his  shoppe  vnder  \  Saint  Peter's  Church  in  | 

*  '  Out  of  3075  lines  in  Part  II.,  there  are  1715  new  lines  and 
some  840  altered  lines  (many  but  very  slightly  altered),  and  some 
520  old  lines.  In  Part  III.,  out  of  2902  lines,  there  are  about 
1021  new  lines,  about  871  altered  lines,  and  above  loio  old  lines. 

t  Entered  in  the  Stationers'  Register,  March  12th,  1593. 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Preface 

Cornwal,  1595."  [Quarto  i.]  Second  editions  of  both 
(i.)  and  (ii.  j  appeared  in  1600,  and  in  1619  a  third  edition 
of  the  two  plays  together: — "The  |  Whole  Contention  I 
betweene  the  two  Famous  |  Houses,  Lancaster  and  | 
YoRKE.  I  With  the  Tragicall  ends  of  the  good  Duke  Hum- 
frey,  Richard  Duke  of  Yorke,  and  King  Henrie  the  Sixt. 
Divided  into  two  Parts :  and  newly  corrected  and  en- 
larged. Written  by  William  Shakespeare,  Gent.  |  Printed 
at  London,  for  T.P."     [Quarto  3.] 

(Both  the  First  and  Third  Quartos  have  been  repro- 
duced by  photolithography  in  the  series  of  Quarto  Fac- 
similes issued  under  the  superintendence  of  Dr.  Furnivall ; 
Nos.  23,  24,  37,  38.)  In  the  comparison  of  Quartos  i 
and  3  one  finds  that  the  corrections  are  principally  in  Part 
L ;  in  Part  IL  the  alterations  are  almost  all  of  single 
words ;  taken  altogether,  however,  the  changes  are  slight, 
and  are  such  ''  as  may  have  been  made  by  a  Reviser  who 
heard  the  Folio  Play  (2  Henry  VI.)  with  a  copy  of 
Quarto  i  or  Quarto  2  in  his  hand,  or  who  had  a  chance  of 
taking  a  note  or  two  from  the  Burbage-play-house  copy, 
and  then  made  further  corrections  at  home."  At  all  events. 
Quarto  3  is  a  more  correct  copy  of  the  older  form  of  2,  3 
Henry  VI.  than  we  have  in  Quarto  i,  though  its  superior- 
ity does  not  bring  it  much  nearer  to  the  Folio  version.* 

The  Relation  of  the  Quartos  to  2  and  3  Henry  VI. 

The  most  cursory  glance  at  the  Quartos  is  enough  to  con- 
vince one  that  scant  justice  has  been  done  to  the  author 
of  the  plays,  and  that  the  printers  of  the  Quartos  must 
have  had  very  careless  copy  before  them.  Probably  many 
errors  may  be  referred  to  the  indififerent  reporters  em- 
ployed by  the  pirate  publisher. 

'Some  by  stenography  drew 
The  plot,  put  it  in  print,  scarce  one  word  true') 

*  A  condensed  version  of  the  three  parts  of  Henry  VI.,  in  one 
play,  was  prepared  by  Charles  Kemble,  and  has  recently  been 
printed  for  the  first  time  in  the  Irving  Shakespeare  from  the 
unique  copy  in  Mr.  Irving's  possession. 


Preface  PARTS  I..  11..  AND  III..  OF 

so  complained  Thomas  Heywood  of  the  treatment  to 
which  one  of  his  productions  had  been  subjected;  he 
complained,  too,  that  ''  plays  were  copied  only  by  the  ear," 
''  publisht  in  savage  and  ragged  ornaments/'  But  this 
probable  cause  of  much  corruption  in  The  Contention  and 
The  True  Tragedy  will  not  account  for  (a)  the  inherent 
weakness  of  a  great  part  of  both  plays;  {h)  the  un- 
Shakespearian  character  of  many  important  passages  and 
whole  scenes.  On  the  other  hand,  many  of  these  latter 
passages  are  to  be  found  (it  is  true,  often  in  an  improved 
form)  in  the  Second  and  Third  Parts  of  Henry  VI.,  as 
printed  in  the  Folio.  Hence  arises  the  most  complex  of 
Shakespearian  problems,  and  scholars  are  divided  on  the 
question ;  their  views  may  be  grouped  under  four  heads, 
according  as  it  is  maintained  ( i )  that  Shakespeare  was 
the  author  of  the  four  plays;*  (2)  that  Shakespeare  was 
merely  the  reviser,  retaining  portions  of  his  predecessor's 
work,  altering  portions,  and  adding  passages  of  his  own  ;f 
(3)  that  the  portions  common  to  the  old  plays,  and  2,  3 
Henry  VI.,  were  Shakespeare's  contribution  to  the  origi- 
nal dramas  (by  Marlowe,  Greene,  Shakespeare,  and,  per- 
haps, Peele)  ;|  (4)  that  Marlowe,  Greene,  and,  perhaps, 
Peele,  were  the  authors  of  the  old  plays,  while  Shake- 
speare and  Marlowe  were  the  revisers,  working  as  collab- 
orators. The  fourth  view  has  been  strenuously  maintained 
in  an  elaborate  study  of  the  subject,  contributed  to  the 
Transactions  of  the  New  Shakespeare  Society,§  where 
the  Marlowan  passages  in  the  Quartos  are  definitely  at- 
tributed to  Marlowe,  the  Greenish  to  Greene,  and  others 
to  Peele,  while  the  Marlowan  lines  which  occur  for  the 
first  time  in  2,  3  Henry  VI.  are  accounted  for  by  assu- 

*  Cp.  Knight's  Essay  on  the  subject  in  The  Pictorial  Shake- 
speare. 

t  Malone,  Variorum  Shakespeare,  1821.  Vol.  XVIII. 

t  R.  Grant  White,  Shakespeare,  Vol.  VII.  Cp.  Halliwell,  First 
Sketches  of  2  and  3  Henry  VI. ;  Sh.  Soc.  Reprints,  1843 ;  Swin- 
burne, Stiid^j  of  Shakespeare  ;  etc. 

§  Miss  Jane  Lee,  New  Shak.  Soc,  1876. 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Preface 

ming  that  Marlowe  and  Shakespeare  jointly  revised  the 
older  plays ;  so  that  in  some  cases  we  have  Shakespeare 
revising  the  work  of  Marlowe  and  Greene,  at  others 
Shakespeare  and  Marlowe  revising  the  works  of  Greene.* 
It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  many  passages  in  The  Con- 
tention and  The  True  Tragedie  are  reminiscent  of  Mar- 
lowe and  Greene,  and  that  such  a  passage  as  2  Henry  VI. 
Act  IV.  i.  i-ii,  which  occurs  for  the  first  time  in  the  Folio, 
is  also  strongly  Marlowan  in  character,  but  this  and  simi- 
lar rhet.orical  sketches  may  very  well  have  been  in  exist- 
ence before  1594,  being  omitted  from  the  acting  version  of 
the  play,  and  hence  not  found  in  The  Contention.     Again, 

*  Miss  Lee's  conjectural  table  of  Shakespeare's  and  Marlowe's 
shares  in  2,  3  Henry  VI.  is  none  the  less  of  value,  as  indicating 
the  doubtful  elements  of  the  plays,  though  one  may  not  accept  her 
final  conclusions.  It  is  here  printed  as  simplified  by  Prof.  Dowden 
(Shakespeare  Primer,  p.  76;  Cp.  Shak.  Soc.  Trans.,  1876,  pp.  293- 
303).  "The  table  shows  in  detail  how  the  revision  was  effected. 
Thus  "  Act  I.  Sc.  i.  S.,  M.  and  G."  means  that  in  this  scene  Shake- 
speare was  revising  the  work  of  Marlowe  and  Greene ;  "  Act  IV. 
Sc.  X.  S.  and  M.,  G."  means  that  here  Shakespeare  and  Marlowe 
were  revising  the  work  of  Greene. 

'Henry  VI.  Part  II.— Act  I.  Sc.  i.  S.,  M.  and  G. ;  Sc.  ii.  S.,  G. ; 
Sc.  iii.  S.,  G.  and  M. ;  Sc.  iv.  S.,  G.  Act  II.  Sc.  i.  S.,  G. ;  Sc.  ii. 
S.,  M.  and  (?)  G.;  Sc.  iii.  S.  and  (?)  M.,  G.;  Sc.  iv.  Sc,  G. 
Act  III.  Sc.  i.  S.  and  (?)  M.,  M.  and  G.;  Sc.  ii.  S.  and  M., 
M.  and  G. ;  Sc.  iii.  S.,  M.  Act.  IV.  Sc.  i.  M.,  G. ;  Sc.  ii.,  iii.,  iv., 
S.,  G. ;  Sc.  V.  imreviscd,  G. ;  Sc.  vi.,  vii.,  viii.,  ix.  S.,  G. ;  Sc.  x. 
S.  and  M.,  G.  Act  V.  Sc.  i.  M.  and  S.,  M.  and  (?)  G. ;  Sc.  ii.  M. 
and  S.,  G.  and  M. ;  Sc.  iii.  S.,  G.  and  M. 

Henry  VI.  Part  III.— Act.  I.  Sc.  i.  S.,  M. ;  Sc.  ii.  M.,  M. ;  Sc. 
iii.  unrevised,  /If.;  Sc.  iv.  S.,  M.  and  (?)  G.  Act  II.  Sc.  i.  M. 
and  (?)  S.,  M.  and  (?)  G.;  Sc.  ii.  (?)  M.,  M.,  G.,  and  (?)  P.; 
Sc.  iii.  S.  and  M.,  M. ;  Sc.  iv.  M.,  G.;  Sc.  v.  S.  and  (?)  M.,  G.', 
Sc.  vi.  M.,  M.  and  G.  Act  III.  Sc.  i.  S.,  G.\  Sc.  ii.,  S.,  G.  and 
(?)  M.;  Sc.  iii.  (?)  M.,  G.  and  (?)  P.  Act  IV.  Sc.  i.  S.,  G.; 
Sc.  ii.  M.,  M.;  Sc.  iii.  S.,  M. ;  Sc.  iv.  S.,  G.:  Sc.  v.  S.,  (?)  G.; 
Sc.  vi.,  vii.,  S.,  G. ;  Sc.  viii.  S.,  (  ?).  Act  V.  Sc.  i.  M.,  G.  and  (  ?) 
P.;  Sc.  ii.  S..  M.  and  G.;  Sc.  iii.  M.,  G. ;  Sc.  iv.  S.,  G.  and  (?)  F.; 
Sc.  v.,  vi.  S.,  M. ;  Sc.  vii.  unrevised,  G." 


Preface  PARTS  L.  II.,  AND  III..  OF 

the  famous  Jack  Cade  scene  (Act  IV.  ii.)  is  common  to 
the  Quarto  and  FoUo ;  according  to  this  fourth  view  it 
must  be  attributed  to  Greene,  but  there  is  nothing  in  the 
whole  of  his  extant  plays  to  justify  the  ascription.  The 
most  striking  speech  in  the  whole  of  2  and  3,  Hcury 
VI. — viz.,  York's  '"  She-zvolf  of  France  hut  zuorse  than 
zvolves  of  France,"  is  to  be  found  verbatim  in  the  older 
Quartos.  That  Marlowe  was  capable  of  this  and  of 
higher  efforts  none  will  deny,  but  there  is  in  the 
speech,  high-sounding  as  it  is,  a  certain  restraint  and 
sanitv,  an  absence  of  lyrical  effect,  which  would  make 
one  hesitate  before  assigning  it  to  Marlowe,  even  if  ex- 
ternal evidence  told  in  favour  of,  and  not  against,  his  au- 
thorship. Weighing  carefully  all  the  evidence,  one  is  in- 
clined to  see  in  the  Quartos  of  1594-5,  a  garbled  short- 
hand edition  of  an  acting  version,  popular  at  the  time,  per- 
haps chiefly  by  reason  of  Shakespeare's  '  additions  '  to 
earlier  plays,  previously  unsuccessful,  possibly  the  work  of 
Marlowe  and  Greene,  or  of  some  clever  disciple ;  the  cor- 
rect copy  of  this  pirated  edition  may  have  served  as  basis 
for  the  revised  version  which  Shakespeare  subsequently 
prepared,  though  he  did  not  in  this  instance  attempt  a 
thorough  recast  of  his  materials :  the  comparatively  few 
important  '  additions  '  which  appear  in  the  Folio  version, 
and  only  there,  may  be  (i.)  Shakespeare's  contributions  to 
the  older  plays  before  1594 ;  or  (ii.)  the  work  of  the  origi- 
nal author  or  authors,  omitted  from  the  acting  version  ; 
or  (iii.)  new  matter  added  by  Shakespeare  any  time  be- 
tween 1594  and  1600  {e.g.  3  Henry  VI.,  v.,  11.  1-50).* 

Date  of  Composition.  (i.)  There  is  no  mention  of 
Henry  VI.  in  Meres  famous  list  in  Palladis  Tamia  (1598), 
although  reference  is  there  made  to  so  doubtful  a  produc- 

*  The  Cambridge  editors  put  the  matter  cautiously : — "  We  can- 
not agree  with  Malone  on  the  one  hand,  that  they  (the  old  plays) 
contain  nothing  of  Shakespeare's,  nor  with  Mr.  Knight  on  the 
other,  that  they  are  entirely  his  work;  there  are  so  many  internal 
proofs  of  his  having  had  considerable  shrire  in  their  composition." 

6 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Preface 

tion  as  Titus  Andronicus;  the  omission  must  have  been 
due  to  the  vexed  question  of  authorship,  and  not  to  any 
want  of  popularity  on  the  part  of  the  plays :  as  early  as 
1592  Xash  in  his  "Pierce  Peiinilcss"  referred  to  the  en- 
thusiasm of  Elizabethan  playgoers  for  the  Talbot  scenes : 
— '*  Hozi.'  would  it  haz'c  joyed  brave  Talbot,  the  terror  of 
the  French,  to  think  that  after  he  had  been  two  hundred 
years  in  his  tomb  he  should  triumph  again  on  the  stage, 
and  have  his  bones  embalmed  zi'ith  the  tears  of  ten  thou- 
sand spectators  (at  least  at  several  times),  zvho,  in  the 
tragedian  that  represents  his  person,  behold  him  fresh- 
bleeding.''  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  i  Henry  l^I.  is 
here  referred  to,  and  especially  the  Shakespearian  contri- 
butions to  the  play.  According  to  Henslowe's  Diary 
'  Henry  (or  Hary,  Harey,  etc.)  the  Sixth  '  was  performed 
as  a  new  play  in  March  1591  ;  the  repeated  entries  in  1592 
fully  bear  out  Nash's  eulogy.  If,  as  seems  very  probable, 
Henslowe's  ''  Henry  VI/'  is  identical  with  i  Henry  VI., 
we  have  the  actual  date  of  Shakespeare's  additions  to  an 
old  and  crude  '  chronicle  drama,'  the  property  of  Lord 
Strange's  Company.* 

(II.)  To  the  same  year  as  Nash's  ''Pierce  Penniless" 
belongs  Greene's  posthumous  tract  '  The  Groatszvorth  of 
Wit  bought  with  a  Million  of  Repentance.' \  At  the  end 
of  the  pamphlet,  published  by  Chettle  before  Dec.  1592, 
occurs  the  famous  address  '  To  those  gentlemen  his  quon- 
dam acquaintance,'  etc.]]  The  three  playmakers  to  whom 
his  remarks  are  directed  have  been  identified  as  (i) 
Christopher  Marlowe,  (2)  Thom.as  Nash  (or  possibly 
Lodge),  and  (3)  George  Peele.  The  point  of  the  whole 
passage  is  its  attack  on  players  in  general,  and  on  one 
player  in  particular,  who  was  usurping  the  playwright's 

'•=  Shakespeare  in  all  probability  belonged  to  this  Company ;  in 
1594  it  was  merged  into  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  {vide  Halli well's 
Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Shakespeare). 

tQ.  Shakspere  Allusion-Books,  Part  I.  Edited  by  C.  M. 
Ingleby  for  The  New  Shakespeare  Society  (1874). 

X  Vide  quotation  at  the  end  of  this  Preface. 


Preface  PARTS  I.,  II..  AND  III.,  OF 

province.*  The  words  '  tiger's  heart  zvrapt  in  a  player's 
hide  '  parody  the  Hne  '  O  tiger's  heart  zvrapt  in  a  zvoniav's 
hide'  which  is  to  be  found  in  both  The  True  Tragedy  and 
3  Henry  VI.  (I.  iv.  137).  Some  critics  are  of  opinion 
that  Greene's  allusion  does  not  necessarily  imply  Shake- 
speare's authorship  of  the  passage  in  which  the  line  oc- 
curs;  this  view,  however,  seems  untenable,  judging-  by 
the  manner  in  which  the  quotation  is  introduced.  Never- 
theless the  passage  may  perhaps  show  (i.)  that  Greene 
himself  had  some  share  in  The  Contention;  (ii.)  that 
Marlowe  had  likewise  a  share  in  it ;  (iii.)  that  Greene  and 
Shakespeare  could  not  have  worked  together;  and  (iv.) 
that  Alarlowe  and  Shakespeare  may  have  worked  to- 
gether. One  thing,  however,  it  conclusively  proves — viz., 
Shakespeare's  connexion  with  these  plays  before  1592. 
Furthermore,  in  December  of  the  same  year,  Chettle 
apologised  for  the  publication  of  Greene's  attack  on 
Shakespeare : — "  Myselfe  have  scene  his  demeanour  no 
lesse  civill,  than  he  exelent  in  the  qualitie  he  professes  ;  be- 
sides, divers  of  worship  have  reported  his  uprightness  of 
daling,"  etc.*  It  is  not  likely  that  the  subject  of  this  eul- 
ogy could  have  been  a  notorious  plagiarist;!  if,  as  some 

*  Nash,  in  his  "Apologie  for  Pierce  Penniless,"  tells  us  that 
Greene  was  "  chief  agent "  of  Lord  Pembroke's  Company.  "  for 
he  wrote  more  than  four  other."  It  is  significant  that  the  title- 
page  of  Quarto  i  of  "  The  True  Tragedie  "  expressly  states  that 
the  play  had  been  acted  by  this  Company. 
t  Chettle's  'Kind-Heart's  Dream.' 

t  One  does  not  deny  that  Greene  may  possibly  have  given 
Shakespeare  '  the  ground  '  of  these  plays,  as  later  on  he  gave  him 
the  stuff  for  his  Winter's  Tale.  "  R.  B.  Gent."  has  the  following 
significant  verse  in  a  volume  entitled  Greene's  Funeralls  (pre- 
served in  the  Bodleain  Library)  : — 

"  Greene  is  the  pleasing  object  of  an  eye; 

Greene  pleased  the  eyes  of  all  that  looked  upon  him; 
Greene  is  tJie  ground  of  every  painter's  die; 

Greene  gave  the  ground  to  all  that  wrote  upon  him; 
Nay  more,  the  men  that  so  eclipst  his  fame, 
Purloined  his  plumes;  can  they  deny  the  same?" 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Preface 

maintain,  no  line  in  the  Quartos  can  justly  be  attributed  to 
Shakespeare,  he  would  perhaps  have  merited  Greene's 
rancour.  But  ''  it  is  not  so,  and  it  zcas  not  so,  and  God 
forbid  that  it  should  be  so!  " 

(III.)  In  1599  Shakespeare  concluded  his  Epilogue 
to  Henry  V.  with  the  following  lines: — 

"  Henry  the  Sixth,  in  infant  bands  crowned  King 
Of  France  and  England,  did  this  King  succeed; 

Whose  state  so  many  had  the  managing. 
That  they  lost  France  and  made  his  England  bleed: 

Which  oft  our  stage  hath  shown:  and,  for  their  sake, 
In  your  fair  minds  let  this  acceptance  take." 

From  these  words  we  may  infer  (i.)  that  i  Henry  VI . 
preceded  Henry  V.;  (ii.)  that  probably  the  Second  and 
Third  Parts  of  Henry  J  I.  are  also  referred  to ;  (iii.)  that 
Shakespeare  claimed  in  some  degree  these  plays  as  his 
own. 

(IV.)  Finally,  the  intimate  connexion  of  2,  3  Henry 
J 'I.  (and  The  Contention  and  The  True  Tragedie)  with 
the  play  of  Richard  HI.,  throws  valuable  light  on  the  date 
of  composition,  and  confirms  the  external  and  internal 
evidence  for  assigning  Shakespeare's  main  contributions 
to  these  plays  to  the  year  159 1-2,  or  thereabouts  (Cp.  Pre- 
face to  'Richard  the  Third  '). 

Sources  of  the  Plot.  The  materials  for  i,  2,  3  Henry 
I 'I.,  were  mainly  derived  from  (i.)  Holinshed's  Chron- 
icles, and  (ii.)  Hall's  Chronicle',  the  account  of  the  civil 
vars  in  the  former  work  is  merely  an  abridgement  of  the 
!atter;  the  author's  attention  would  therefore,  naturally, 
be  directed  to  the  chief  history  of  the  period  covered  by 
the  plays  [cp.  title-page  of  the  first  edition,  1548: — *'  The 
Union  of  the  two  noble  and  illustre  Famelies  of  Lan- 
castre  and  Yorke,  being  long  in  continual  discension  for 
the  croune  of  this  noble  realme,  with  all  the  actes  done  in 
bothe  the  tymes  of  the  princes,  bothe  of  the  one  linage  and 
of  the  other,  beginnyng  at  the  tyme  of  Kyng  Henry  the 


Preface  PARTS  I.,  II..  AND  III.,  OF 

fowerth,  the  first  Author  of  this  division,  and  so  success- 
ively proceadyng  to  the  reigne  of  the  high  and  prudent 
prince  Kyng  Henry  the  eighth,  vndubitate  flower  and  very 
heire  of  both  the  sayd  linages"].*  Although  in  no  part 
of  Henry  VI.  is  Holinshed's  Chronicles  followed  "  with 
that  particularity  which  wx  have  in  Shakespeare's  later 
historical  plays,"  it  is  noteworthy  that  it  is  the  primary 
source  of  Part  I.,  the  secondary  of  Parts  II.  and  III. 
(On  the  historical  aspect  of  the  plays,  cp.  Commentaries 
on  the  Historical  Plays  of  Shakespeare,  Courtenay  ;  War- 
ner's English  History  in  Shakespeare.) 

Duration  of  Action.  The  time  of  the  Pirst  Part  is 
eight  days,  with  intervals ;  the  Second  Part  covers  four- 
teen days,  represented  on  the  stage,  with  intervals  sug- 
gesting a  period  in  all  of,  at  the  outside,  a  couple  of  years  ; 
in  the  Third  Part  twenty  days  are  represented  ;  the  whole 
period  is  about  twelve  months. 

Historic  Time.  Part  I.  deals  with  the  period  from 
''the  death  of  Henry  V.,  31st  August,  1422,  to  the  treaty 
of  marriage  between  Henry  VI.  and  Margaret,  end  of 
1444."  Part  II.  covers  about  ten  years,  from  April  22nd, 
1445,  to  May  23rd,  1455.  P'^^'f  I^^'  commences  "  on  the 
day  of  the  battle  of  St.  Albans,  23rd  May,  1455,  and  ends 
on  the  day  on  which  Henry  VI.'s  body  was  exposed  in  St. 
Paul's,  22nd  May,  1471.  Queen  Margaret,  however,  was 
not  ransomed  and  sent  to  France  till  1475."  {^P-  Dan- 
iel's ''  Time  Analysis,"  Nezv  Shak.  Soc,  1877-79.) 

*  Knight  points  out  an  excellent  instance  of  HalTs  influence,  as 
compared  with  Holinshed's ;  in  the  latter's  narrative  of  the  inter- 
view between  Talbot  and  his  son,  before  they  both  fell  at  the  battle 
of  Chatillon,  we  have  no  dialogue,  but  simply,  '  Many  words  he 
used  to  persuade  him  to  have  saved  his  life.'  In  Hall  we  have 
the  very  words  which  the  Poet  has  paraphrased. 


10 


KING  HENRY  VI. 


Critical  Comments. 
I. 

Argument. 

I.  The  martial  Henry  V.,  conqueror  of  France,  dies 
in  the  culmination  of  his  glory,  leaving  to  his  son,  Henry 
VI.,  the  two  sceptres  of  England  and  France.  But  the 
young  monarch,  still  in  his  minority,  is  surrounded  by 
warring  nobles  who  lose  sight  of  their  country's  foreign 
interests  in  private  broils.  The  French  seize  upon  this 
moment  of  English  weakness  to  retake  many  of  their 
cities;  and  the  Dauphin  receives  unexpected  aid  from 
a  shepherd's  daughter,  Joan  la  Pucelle,  better  known  as 
Joan  of  Arc,  who  first  assists  him  to  raise  the  siege  of 
Orleans,  notwithstanding  the  valiant  resistance  of  the 
English  general,  Talbot. 

II.  While  the  French  celebrate  their  victory  with 
feasting  in  Orleans,  the  English  plan  an  attack,  and  by 
a  sudden  night  sortie  retake  the  city. 

In  England,  meanwhile,  the  violent  feuds  of  Richard 
Plantagenet,  afterwards  Duke  of  York,  and  John  Beau- 
fort, Earl,  afterwards  Duke  of  Somerset,  whose  parties 
are  distinguished  by  white  and  red  roses,  develop  into 
civil  strife  which  was  ere  long  to  deluge  the  entire  king- 
dom with  blood. 

III.  The  French,  througrh  the  strategy  of  Joan  of  Arc, 
capture  Rouen;  but  Talbot's  forces  in  a  desperate 
charge  retake  the  city.  An  English  garrison  is  placed 
on  the  walls,  and  Talbot  proceeds  with  his  army  to  Paris, 
whither  the  young  King  Henry  VI.  has  come  for  his 

II 


Comments  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

second  coronation.  The  King  recognizes  the  merit  of 
his  general  by  creating  Talbot  Earl  of  Shrewsbury.  The 
French  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  had  been  serving  in 
conjunction  with  the  English  army,  and  had  set  out 
from  Rouen  a  httle  behind  Talbot,  is  met  by  the  Dau- 
phin and  persuaded  to  turn  his  allegiance  to  France. 

IV.  The  intrepid  Talbot  and  his  son  attempt  to  take 
Bordeaux,  but  are  entrapped  by  a  greatly  superior  force 
under  the  Dauphin.  The  personal  quarrels  of  York  and 
Somerset  cause  them  to  deny  reinforcements  promised 
to  Talbot,  and  he  is  slain  in  a  bloody  battle. 

V.  The  French  on  their  side  suffer  a  loss  in  the  cap- 
ture of  Joan  of  Arc,  who  is  cruelly  condemned  to  death 
at  the  stake  for  witchcraft.  The  war  brings  varying 
fortunes  to  both  sides,  until  at  last  overtures  of  peace 
are  made.  The  Dauphin  consents  to  swear  allegiance  to 
England  and  reign  as  viceroy ;  while  King  Henry  is  in- 
duced by  the  artful  suggestions  of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk 
to  forego  a  proposed  matrimonial  alliance  with  the 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Armagnac,  and  to  solicit  the 
hand  of  Margaret,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Anjou. 

McSpadden  :  Shakespearian  Synopses. 


II. 

King  Henry. 

Shakspere  does  not  hate  King  Henry ;  he  is  as  favour- 
ably disposed  to  him  as  is  possible;  but  he  says,  with 
the  same  clear  and  definite  expression  in  which  the  his- 
torical fact  uttered  itself,  that  this  saint  of  a  feeble  type 
upcn  the  throne  of  England  was  a  curse  to  the  land  and 
to  the  time  only  less  than  a  royal  criminal  as  weak  as 
Henry  would  have  been. 

The  heroic  days  of  the  fifth  Henry,  when  the  play 
opens,  belong  to  the  past;  but  their  memory  survives  in 
the  hearts  and  in  the  vigorous  muscles  of  the  great  lords 

12 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Comments 

and  earls  who  surround  the  King.  He  only,  who  most 
should  have  treasured  and  augmented  his  inheritance  of 
glory  and  of  power,  is  insensible  to  the  large  responsibil- 
ities and  privileges  of  his  place.  He  is  cold  in  great  af- 
fairs; his  supreme  concern  is  to  remain  blameless.  Free 
from  all  greeds  and  ambitions,  he  yet  is  possessed  by 
egotism,  the  egotism  of  timid  saintliness.  His  virtue  is 
negative,  because  there  is  no  vigorous  basis  of  manhood 
within  him  out  of  which  heroic  saintliness  might  develop 
itself.  For  fear  of  what  is  wrong,  he  shrinks  from  what 
is  right.  This  is  not  the  virtue  ascribed  to  the  nearest 
followers  of  "  the  Faithful  and  True  "  who  in  his  right- 
eousness doth  judge  and  make  war.  Henry  is  passive  in 
the  presence  of  evil,  and  weeps.  He  would  keep  his  gar- 
ments clean;  but  the  garments  of  God's  soldier-saints, 
who  do  not  fear  the  soils  of  struggle,  gleam  with  a  higher, 
intenser  purity.  "  His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire, 
and  on  his  head  were  many  crowns;  .  .  .  and  the 
armies  which  were  in  heaven  followed  him  upon  white 
horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean."  These 
soldiers  in  heaven  have  their  representatives  in  earth, 
and  Henry  was  not  one  of  these.  Zeal  must  come  before 
charity,  and  then  when  charity  comes  it  will  appear  as  a 
self-denial.  But  Henry  knows  nothing  of  zeal ;  and  he 
is  amiable,  not  charitable. 

DowDEN :  Shakspere, 

III. 

Joan  La  Pucelle. 

The  representation  given  of  Joan  la  Pucelle  is  grating 
and  disagreeable  from  our  conviction  that  it  is  his- 
torically false  and  unjust;  this  however  was  not  the 
conviction  of  Hall  and  Holinshed  and  their  readers, 
which  was  as  distinctly  the  other  way;  and  though  such 
glimpses  of  the  truth  appear  in  their  narrative  as  would 
well  enable  Shakespeare  to  divine  and  display  the  whole 

13 


Comments  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

of  it,  to  have  done  so  would  have  involved  a  much  more 
extensive  change  of  the  old  play  than  he  took  in  hand. 
Taking  the  character  as  it  stands — the  embodiment  of 
motives  and  disposition  in  harmony  with  deeds  that 
the  chroniclers  assert,  as  facts — it  is  hard  to  say  that  it  is 
other  than  consistent  and  natural.  The  world  is  now  in 
possession  of  numerous  detailed  examples  of  religious 
enthusiasm  and  self-deception  combining  with  ambitious 
or  political  purpose  in  all  their  strange  and  mingling 
manifestations  both  of  the  mind  and  body,  and  if  we  scru- 
tinize the  most  fortunate  of  them  the  result  is  much  the 
same  as  the  catastrophe  of  Joan  even  as  represented  in 
the  play.  The  false  impressions  and  assumptions  that 
inflame  the  enthusiast  work  wonders  in  their  strength, 
but  their  weakness  tells  at  last.  The  self-conviction  of 
the  special  choice  and  guidance  and  inspiration  of 
heaven  suffers  rude  shocks  in  an  extended  course,  as 
rude  as  the  blindest  fatalism  that  hardens  its  purposes 
by  repetition  of  the  phrase  of  a  destiny,  a  mission,  or  a 
star.  Rarely  indeed  does  the  vainly  exalted  thought  of 
special  heavenly  protection  escape  reversal  by  as  de- 
pressing a  belief  of  desertion  and  forsakenness,  and  a  life 
of  heroism  may  easily  close  in  vacillation,  or  despair,  or 
degrading  attempt  to  keep  up  by  foul  means,  or  trickery, 
the  influence  that  only  worked  wonders,  and  was  vic- 
torious when  it  sprung  spontaneously.  Still  the  dram- 
atist has  been  more  tender  to  Joan  in  one  respect  than 
the  historians,  and  he  rejects  the  fact  they  charge  her 
with,  of  shamefully  slaughtering,  out  of  spite  and  in  cold 
blood,  her  surrendered  prisoner. 

Lloyd  :  Critical  Essays  on  the  Plays  of  Shakespeare. 


I  abstain  from  making  any  remarks  on  the  character 
of  Joan  of  Arc,  as  deUneated  in  i  Henry  VI. ;  first,  be- 
cause I  do  not  in  my  conscience  attribute  it  to  Shake- 
speare, and,  secondly,  because  in  representing  her  ac- 
cording to  the  vulgar  English  traditions,  as  half  sorcer- 
ess, half  enthusiast,  and,  in  the  end,  corrupted  by  pleas- 

14 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Comments 

ure  and  ambition,  the  truth  of  history  and  the  truth  of 
nature,  justice  and  common  sense,  are  equally  violated. 
Schiller  has  treated  the  character  nobly,  but  in  making 
Joan  the  slave  of  passion,  and  the  victim  of  love,  instead 
of  the  victim  of  patriotism,  has  committed,  I  think,  a 
serious  error  in  judgement  and  feeling;  and  I  cannot 
sympathize  with  Madame  de  Stael's  defence  of  him  on  this 
particular  point.  There  was  no  occasion  for  this  devia- 
tion from  the  truth  of  things,  and  from  the  dignity  and 
spotless  purity  of  the  character.  This  young  enthusiast, 
with  her  religious  reveries,  her  simplicity,  her  heroism, 
her  melancholy,  her  sensibility,  her  fortitude,  her  per- 
fectly feminine  bearing  in  all  her  exploits  (for  though 
she  so  often  led  the  van  of  battle  unshrinking,  while 
death  was  all  around  her,  she  never  struck  a  blow,  nor 
stained  her  consecrated  sword  with  blood — another 
point  in  which  Schiller  has  wronged  her),  this  heroine 
and  martyr,  over  whose  last  moments  we  shed  burning 
tears  of  pity  and  indignation,  remains  yet  to  be  treated 
as  a  dramatic  character. 

Mrs.  Jameson  :  Characteristics  of  Women, 


Ah,  yes!  Even  Shakespeare  is  guilty  of  injustice  to- 
wards this  noble  maiden  who  saved  her  country,  and  he 
treats  her  in  an  unfriendly  and  unloving  manner,  even  if 
he  does  not  proclaim  himself  her  decided  enemy.  And 
even  if  she  saved  her  country  with  the  aid  of  hell,  she 
still  deserves  respect  and  admiration.  Or  are  the  critics 
right,  who  hold  that  those  passages  in  which  the  maid 
makes  her  appearance,  as  also  Parts  II.  and  III.  of 
Henry  VI .  are  not  by  Shakespeare?  They  maintain 
that  he  only  revised  this  trilogy  which  he  took  from 
older  plays.  I  would  gladly  be  of  their  opinion  for  the 
sake  of  the  Maid  of  Orleans,  but  their  arguments  are 
untenable.  In  many  parts  these  doubtful  plays  bear  the 
full  impress  of  Shakespeare's  genius. 

Heine:  Notes  on  Shakespeare  Heroines. 
15 


Comments  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

IV. 

Lord  Talbot. 

"  This  is  that  terrible  Talbot,  so  famous  for  his  sword, 
or  rather  whose  sword  was  so  famous  for  his  arm  that 
used  it;  a  sword  with  bad  Latin  upon  it,  but  good  steel 
within  it;  which  constantly  conquered  where  it  came,  in 
so  much  that  the  bare  fame  of  his  approach  frighted  the 
French  from  the  siege  of  Burdeaux/' 

Such  is  the  quaint  notice  which  old  Fuller,  in  his 
Worthies,  gives  of  Talbot.  He  is  the  hero  of  the  play  be- 
fore us;  and  it  is  easy  to  see  how  his  bold,  chivalrous 
bearing,  and,  above  all,  the  manner  of  his  death,  should 
have  made  him  the  favourite  of  the  poet  as  well  as  of  the 
chroniclers.  His  name  appears  to  have  been  a  tradi- 
tionary household  word  up  to  the  time  of  Shakspere; 
and  other  writers  besides  the  chroniclers,  rejoiced  in  al- 
lusions to  his  warlike  deeds.  Edward  Kerke,  the  com- 
mentator on  Spenser's  Pastorals,  thus  speaks  of  him  in 
1579:  "  His  nobleness  bred  such  a  terror  in  the  hearts  of 
the  French,  that  ofttimes  great  armies  were  defeated  and 
put  to  flight  at  the  only  hearing  of  his  name :  in  so  much 
that  the  French  women,  to  affray  their  children,  would 
tell  them  that  the  Talbot  cometh."  By  a  poetical  license, 
Talbot,  in  this  act,  is  made  to  retake  Orleans;  whereas 
in  truth  his  defeat  at  the  battle  of  Patay  soon  followed 
upon  the  raising  of  the  siege  after  the  appearance  of 
Joan  of  Arc. 

Knight  :  Pictorial  Shakspere. 


Lord  Talbot  is  obviously  the  noblest  character  in  the 
whole  play,  a  rough  and  vigorous  knight;  battle  and 
war,  self-devoted  patriotism,  knightly  honour  and  bra- 
very, these  have  constituted  his  entire  life ;  all  higher 
ideas  seem  beyond  him;  he  knows  how  to  win  a  battle, 
but  not  how  to  carry  on  a  war;   he  is  an  excellent  mili- 

16 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Comments 

tary  captain,  but  no  general,  no  chief,  because,  although 
valiant  and  even  discreet  and  prudent  (as  is  proved  by 
his  interview  with  the  Countess  of  Auvergne),  he  does 
not  possess  either  presence  of  mind,  creative  power,  or  a 
clear  insight  into  matters.  This,  together  with  the  harsh- 
ness and  roughness  of  his  virtue,  which  has  in  it  some- 
thing of  the  rage  of  the  lion,  is  his  weak  point,  and 
proves  the  cause  of  his  death.  His  power  was  not  equal 
to  the  complicated  circumstances  and  the  depravity  of 
the  age;  under  the  iron  rod  of  chastisement,  he  became 
equally  unbending  and  iron;  he  is  the  representative 
of  the  rage  and  ferocity  of  the  war,  to  which  he  falls  a 
victim  because  he  is  wholly  absorbed  in  it  and  therefore 
unable  to  become  the  master  in  directing  it.  In  such 
davs,  however,  the  honourable  death  of  a  noble  charac- 
ter proves  a  blessing;  victory  and  pleasure  are  found  in 
death  when  life  succumbs  to  the  superior  power  of  evil, 
to  the  weight  and  misery  of  a  decline  which  affects  both 
the  nation  and  the  state. 

Ulrici  :  Shakspcarc's  Dramatic  Art. 


Shakespeare's  Early  Hand. 

Shakspeare's  choice  fell  first  on  this  period  of  Eng- 
lish history,  so  full  of  misery  and  horrors  of  every  kind, 
because  the  pathetic  is  naturally  more  suitable  than  the 
characteristic  to  a  young  poet's  mind.  We  do  not  yet 
find  here  the  whole  maturity  of  his  genius,  yet  certainly 
its  whole  strength.  Careless  as  to  the  apparent  un- 
connectedness  of  contemporary  events,  he  bestows  little 
attention  on  preparation  and  development :  all  the  fig- 
ures follow  in  rapid  succession,  and  announce  them- 
selves emphatically  for  what  we  ought  to  take  them; 
from  scenes  where  the  effect  is  sufficiently  agitating  to 
form  the  catastrophe  of  a  less  extensive  plan,  the  poet 
perpetually   hurries   us   on   to   catastrophes   still   more 

17 


Comm-nts  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

dreadful.  The  First  Part  contains  only  the  first  forming 
of  the  parties  of  the  White  and  Red  Rose,  under  which 
blooming  ensigns  such  bloody  deeds  were  afterwards  per- 
petrated; the  varying  results  of  the  war  in  France  prin- 
cipally fill  the  stage.  The  wonderful  saviour  of  her 
country,  Joan  of  Arc,  is  portrayed  by  Shakspere  with 
an  Englishman's  prejudices:  yet  he  at  first  leaves  it 
doubtful  whether  she  has  not  in  reality  a  heavenly  mis- 
sion; she  appears  in  the  pure  glory  of  virgin  heroism; 
by  her  supernatural  eloquence  (and  this  circumstance  is 
of  the  poet's  invention)  she  wins  over  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy to  the  French  cause;  afterwards,  corrupted -by 
vanity  and  luxury,  she  has  recourse  to  hellish  fiends, 
and  comes  to  a  miserable  end.  To  her  is  opposed  Tal- 
bot, a  rough  iron  warrior,  who  moves  us  the  more  pow- 
erfully, as,  in  the  moment  w^hen  he  is  threatened  with  in- 
evitable death,  all  his  care  is  tenderly  directed  to  save  his 
son,  who  performs  his  first  deeds  of  arms  under  his  eye. 
After  Talbot  has  in  vain  sacrificed  himself,  and  the  Maid 
of  Orleans  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  English,  the 
French  provinces  are  completely  lost  by  an  impolitic 
marriage;  and  with  this  the  piece  ends. 
,    ScHLEGEL :  Lectures  on  Dramatic  Art  and  Literature. 


If  we  separate  all  the  scenes  between  York  and  Som- 
erset, Mortimer  and  York,  Margaret  and  Suffolk,  and 
read  them  by  themselves,  we  feel  that  we  are  looking 
upon  a  series  of  scenes  which  exhibit  Shakespeare's 
style  in  his  historical  plays  just  in  the  manner  in  which 
we  should  have  expected  him  to  have  written  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  career.  We  see  the  skilful  and  witty 
turn  of  speech  and  the  germ  of  his  figurative  language; 
we  perceive  already  the  fine  clever  repartees  and  the 
more  choice  form  of  expression;  in  Mortimer's  death- 
scene  and  in  the  lessons  of  his  deeply  dissembled  silent 
policy,  which  while  dying  he  transmits  to  York,  we  see, 
with  Hallam,  all  the  genuine  feeling  and  knowledge  of 

it5 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Comments 

human  nature  which  belongs  to  Shakespeare  in  simi- 
lar pathetic  or  political  scenes  in  his  other  dramas ;  all 
.  .  .  certainly  in  the  germ  which  prefigures  future 
perfection.  These  scenes  contrast  decidedly  with  the 
trivial,  tedious  war  scenes  and  the  alternate  bombastic 
and  dull  disputes  between  Ciloucester  and  Winchester ; 
they  adhere  to  the  common  highway  of  historical  poetry, 
though  they  have  sufficient  of  the  freshness  of  youthful 
art  to  furnish  Schiller  in  his  Maid  of  Orleans  with  many 
beautiful  traits,  and  indeed  with  the  principal  idea  of  his 
drama. 

Gervinus  :  Shakespeare  Commentaries. 


IT 


DRAMATIS   PERSONAE. 

King  Henry  the  Sixth. 

Duke  of  Gloucester,  uncle  to  the  King,  and  Protector. 

Duke  of  Bedford,  uncle  to  the  King,  and  Regent  of  France. 

Thomas  Beaufort,  Duke  of  Exeter,  great-uncle  to  the  King. 

Henry  Beaufort,  great-uncle  to  the  King,  Bishop  of  Winches- 
ter, and  afterwards  Cardinal. 

JcHN  Beaufort,  Earl,  afterwards  Duke,  of  Somerset. 

Richard  Plantagenet,  son  of  Richard  late  Earl  of  Cambridge, 
afterwards  Duke  of  York. 

Earl  of  Warwick. 

Earl  of  Salisbury. 

Earl  of  Suffolk. 

Lord  Talbot,  afterwards  Earl  of  Shrewsbury. 

John  Talbot,  his  son. 

Edmund  Mortimer,  Earl  of  March. 

Sir  John  Fastolfe. 

Sir  William  Lucy. 

Sir  William  Glansdale. 

Sir  Thomas  Gargrave. 

Mayor  of  London. 

WooDviLE,  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower. 

Vernon,  of  the  White-Rose  or  York  faction. 

Basset,  of  the  Red-Rose  or  Lancaster  faction. 

A  Lawyer.     Mortimer's  Keepers. 

Charles,  Dauphin,  and  afterwards  King,  of  France. 

Reignier,  Duke  of  Anjou,  and  titular  King  of  Naples. 

Duke  OF  Burgundy. 

Duke  of  Alencon. 

Bastard  of  Orleans. 

Governor  of  Paris. 

Master-Gunner  of  Orleans,  and  his  Son. 

General  of  the  French  forces  in  Bourdeaux. 

A  French  Sergeant.     A  Porter. 

An  old  Shepherd,  father  to  Joan  la  Pucelle. 

Margaret,  daughter  to  Reignier,  afterwards  married  to  King 
Henry. 

Countess  of  Au\^rgne. 

Joan  la  Pucelle,  commonly  called  Joan  of  Arc. 

Lords,  Warders  of  the  Tower,  Heralds,  Officers,  Soldiers, 

Messengers,  and  Attendants. 

Fiends  appearing  to  La  Pucelle. 

Scene  :    Partly  in  England,  and  partly  in  France. 


The  First  Part  of 
King  Henry  VI. 

ACT  FIRST. 
Scene  I. 

Westminster  Abbey. 

Dead  March.  Enter  the  Funeral  of  King  Henry  the 
Fifth,  attended  on  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  Regent 
of  France;  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Protector;  the 
Duke  of  Exeter,  the  Earl  of  Warzuick,  the  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  Heralds,  &c. 

Bed.  Hung  be  the  heavens  with  black,  yield  day  to  night ! 
Comets,  importing  change  of  times  and  states, 
Brandish  your  crystal  tresses  in  the  sky. 
And  with  them  scourge  the  bad  revolting  stars 
That  have  consented  unto  Henry's  death ! 
King  Henry  the  Fifth,  too  famous  to  live  long ! 
England  ne'er  lost  a  king  of  so  much  w^orth. 

Glou.  England  ne'er  had  a  king  until  his  time. 
Virtue  he  had,  deserving  to  command  : 
His  brandish'd  sword  did  blind  men  with  his  beams : 
His  arms  spread  wider  than  a  dragon's  wings  ;        1 1 
His  sparkling  eyes,  replete  with  wrathful  fire, 
More  dazzled  and  drove  back  his  enemies 
Than  mid-day  sun  fierce  bent  against  their  faces. 
What  should  I  say  ?   his  deeds  exceed  all  speech : 
He  ne'er  lift  up  his  hand  but  conquered. 

21 


Act  I.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Exe.  We  mourn  in  black :   why  mourn  we  not  in  blood  ? 
Henry  is  dead  and  never  shall  revive : 
Upon  a  wooden  coffin  we  attend, 
And  death's  dishonourable  victory  20 

We  with  our  stately  presence  glorify, 
Like  captives  bound  to  a  triumphant  car. 
What !  shall  we  curse  the  planets  of  mishap 
That  plotted  thus  our  glory's  overthrow  ? 
Or  shall  we  think  the  subtle-witted  French 
Conjurers  and  sorcerers,  that  afraid  of  him 
By  magic  verses  have  contrived  his  end  ? 

Win.  He  was  a  king  bless' d  of  the  King  of  kings. 
Unto  the  French  the  dreadful  judgement-day 
So  dreadful  will  not  be  as  was  his  sight.  30 

The  battles  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  he  fought : 
The  church's  prayers  made  him  so  prosperous. 

Glou.  The  church!    where  is   it?     Had  not  churchmen 
pray'd, 
His  thread  of  life  had  not  so  soon  decay'd : 
None  do  you  like  but  an  effeminate  prince, 
Whom,  like  a  school-boy,  you  may  over-awe. 

Win.  Gloucester,  whate'er  we  like,  thou  art  Protector, 
And  lookest  to  command  the  prince  and  realm. 
Thy  wife  is  proud ;   she  holdeth  thee  in  awe, 
More  than  God  or  religious  churchmen  may.  40 

Glou.  Name  not  religion,  for  thou  lovest  the  flesh. 

And  ne'er  throughout  the  year  to  church  thou  go'st 
Except  it  be  to  pray  against  thy  foes. 

Bed.  Cease,  cease  these  jars  and  rest  your  minds  in  peace : 
Let 's  to  the  altar :  heralds,  wait  on  us  : 
Instead  of  gold,  we  '11  offer  up  our  arms ; 
Since  arms  avail  not  now  that  Henry  's  dead. 
22 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  I.  Sc.  i. 

Posterity,  await  for  wretched  years, 

When  at  their  mothers'  moist  eyes  babes  shall  suck, 

Our  isle  be  made  a  nourish  of  salt  tears,  50 

And  none  but  women  left  to  wail  the  dead. 

Henry  the  Fifth,  thy  ghost  I  invocate : 

Prosper  this  realm,  keep  it  from  civil  broils. 

Combat  with  adverse  planets  in  the  heavens ! 

A  far  more  glorious  star  thy  soul  will  make 

Than  Julius  Caesar  or  bright — 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Mess.  My  honourable  lords,  health  to  you  all ! 
Sad  tidings  bring  I  to  you  out  of  France, 
Of  loss,  of  slaughter  and  discomfiture : 
Guienne,  Champagne,  Rheims,  Orleans,  60 

Paris,  Guysors,  Poictiers,  are  all  quite  lost. 

Bed.  What  say'st  thou,  man,  before  dead  Henry's  corse? 
Speak  softly  ;  or  the  loss  of  those  great  towns 
Will  make  him  burst  his  lead  and  rise  from  death. 

Glou.  Is  Paris  lost  ?  is  Rouen  yielded  up  ? 
If  Henry  were  recall'd  to  life  again. 
These  news  would  cause  him  once  more  yield  the 
ghost. 

Exe.  How  were  they  lost  ?  what  treachery  was  used  ? 

Mess.  No  treachery  ;  but  want  of  men  and  money. 

Amongst  the  soldiers  this  is  muttered,  70 

That  here  you  maintain  several  factions, 

And  whilst  a  field  should  be  dispatch'd  and  fought, 

You  are  disputing  of  your  generals : 

One  would  have  lingering  wars  with  little  cost ; 

Another  would  fly  swift,  but  wanteth  wings ; 

A  third  thinks,  without  expense  at  all, 

^3 


Act  I.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

By  guileful  fair  words  peace  may  be  obtain'd. 

Awake,  awake,  English  nobility ! 

Let  not  sloth  dim  your  honours  new-begot : 

Cropp'd  are  the  flower-de-luces  in  your  arms ;         80 

Of  England's  coat  one  half  is  cut  away. 
Exc.  Were  our  tears  wanting  to  this  funeral, 

These  tidings  would  call  forth  their  flowing  tides. 
Bed.  Me  they  concern*;  Regent  I  am  of  France. 

Give  me  my  steeled  coat.     I  '11  fight  for  France. 

Away  with  these  disgraceful  wailing  robes ! 

Wounds  will  I  lend  the  French  instead  of  eyes. 

To  weep  their  intermissive  miseries. 

Enter  to  them  another  Messenger. 

Mess.  Lords,  view  these  letters  full  of  bad  mischance. 

France  is  revolted  from  the  English  quite,  90 

Except  some  petty  towns  of  no  import : 

The  Dauphin  Charles  is  crowned  king  in  Rheims ; 

The  Bastard  of  Orleans  with  him  is  join'd ; 

Reignier,  Duke  of  Anjou,  doth  take  his  part; 

The  Duke  of  Alenqon  flieth  to  his  side. 
Exe.  The  Dauphin  crowned  king !   all  fly  to  him ! 

O,  whither  shall  we  fly  from  this  reproach  ? 
Gloit.  \Nt  will  not  fly,  but  to  our  enemies'  throats. 

Bedford,  if  thou  be  slack,  I  '11  fight  it  out. 
Bed.  Gloucester,  why  doubt'st  thou  of  my  forwardness  ? 

An  army  have  I  muster' d  in  my  thoughts,  10 1 

Wherewith  already  France  is  overrun. 

Enter  another  Messenger. 

Mess.  My  gracious  lords,  to  add  to  your  laments, 

Wherewith  you  now  bedew  King  Henry's  hearse, 

24 


KING  HEiNRY  VI.  Act  I.  Sc.  i. 

I  must  inform  you  of  a  dismal  fight 

Betwixt  the  stout  Lord  Talbot  and  the  French. 

Will.  What !    wherein  Talbot  overcame  ?   is  't  so  ? 

Mess.  O,  no ;   wherein  Lord  Talbot  was  o'erthrow^n : 
The  circumstance  I  '11  tell  you  more  at  large. 
The  tenth  of  August  last  this  dreadful  lord,  no 

Retiring  from  the  siege  of  Orleans, 
Having  full  scarce  six  thousand  in  his  troop, 
By  three  and  twenty  thousand  of  the  French 
Was  round  encompassed  and  set  upon. 
No  leisure  had  he  to  enrank  his  men ; 
He  wanted  pikes  to  set  before  his  archers  ; 
Instead  whereof  sharp  stakes  pluck'd  out  of  hedges 
They  pitched  in  the  ground  confusedly, 
To  keep  the  horsemen  off  from  breaking  in. 
More  than  three  hours  the  fight  continued;  120 

Where  valiant  Talbot  above  human  thought 
Enacted  wonders  with  his  sword  and  lance : 
Hundreds  he  sent  to  hell,  and  none  durst  stand  him ; 
Here,  there,  and  every  where,  enraged  he  flew : 
The  French  exclaim'd,  the  devil  was  in  arms ; 
All  the  whole  army  stood  agazed  on  him  : 
His  soldiers  spying  his  undaunted  spirit 
A  Talbot !   a  Talbot !   cried  out  amain, 
And  rush'd  into  the  bowels  of  the  battle. 
Here  had  the  conquest  fully  been  seal'd  up,  130 

If  Sir  John  Fastolfe  had  not  play'd  the  coward : 
He,  being  in  the  vaward,  placed  behind 
With  purpose  to  relieve  and  follow  them, 
Cowardly  fled,  not  having  struck  one  stroke. 
Hence  grew  the  general  wreck  and  massacre; 
Enclosed  were  they  with  their  enemies : 

25 


Act  I.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

A  base  Walloon,  to  win  the  Dauphin's  grace, 
Thrust  Talbot  with  a  spear  into  the  back,^ 
Whom  all  France  with  their  chief  assembled  strength 
Durst  not  presume  to  look  once  in  the  face.  140 

Bed.  Is  Talbot  slain  ?  then  I  will  slay  myself, 
For  living  idly  here  in  pomp  and  ease, 
Whilst  such  a  worthy  leader,  wanting  aid, 
Unto  his  dastard  foemen  is  betray'd. 

Mess.  O  no,  he  lives ;  but  is  took  prisoner. 

And  Lord  Scales  with  him,  and  Lord  Hungerford : 
Most  of  the  rest  slaughter'd  or  took  likewise. 

Bed.  His  ransom  there  is  none  but  I  shall  pay : 

I  '11  hale  the  Dauphin  headlong  from  his  throne : 
His  crown  shall  be  the  ransom  of  my  friend;        150 
Four  of  their  lords  I  '11  change  for  one  of  ours. 
Farewell,  my  masters  ;  to  my  task  will  I ; 
Bonfires  in  France  forthwith  I  am  to  make. 
To  keep  our  great  Saint  George's  feast  withal : 
Ten  thousand  soldiers  with  me  I  will  take. 
Whose  bloody  deeds  shall  make  all  Europe  quake. 

Mess.  So  you  had  need  ;   for  Orleans  is  besieged ; 
The  English  army  is  grown  weak  and  faint : 
The  Earl  of  Salisbury  craveth  supply, 
And  hardly  keeps  his  men  from  mutiny,  160 

Since  they,  so  few,  watch  such  a  multitude. 

Exe.  Remember,  lords,  your  oaths  to  Henry  sworn, 
Either  to  quell  the  Dauphin  utterly. 
Or  bring  him  in  obedience  to  your  yoke. 

Bed.  I  do  remember  it ;  and  here  take  my  leave, 

To  go  about  my  preparation.  [Exit. 

Gloii.  I  '11  to  the  Tower  with  all  the  haste  I  can. 
To  view  the  artillery  and  munition ; 
26 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  I.  Sc.  ii. 

And  then  I  will  proclaim  young  Henry  king.  [Exit. 
Exe.  To  Eltham  will  I,  where  the  young  king  is,  170 

Being  ordain 'd  his  special  governor, 

And  for  his  safety  there  I  '11  best  devise.  [Exit. 

Win.  Each  hath  his  place  and  function  to  attend. 

I  am  left  out ;   for  me  nothing  remains. 

But  long  I  will  not  be  Jack  out  of  office : 

The  king  from  Eltham  I  intend  to  steal 

And  sit  at  chiefest  stern  of  public  weal.         [Exeunt. 

Scene  II. 

Erance.     Before  Orleans. 

Sound  a  Eloiirish.     Enter  Charles,  Alencon,  and  Reignier, 
marching  icitJi  Drum  and  Soldiers. 

Char.  Mars  his  true  moving,  even  as  in  the  heavens 
So  in  the  earth,  to  this  day  is  not  known : 
Late  did  he  shine  upon  the  English  side ; 
Now  we  are  victors ;    upon  us  he  smiles. 
What  towns  of  any  moment  but  we  have? 
At  pleasure  here  we  lie  near  Orleans ; 
Otherwhiles  the  famish'd  English,  like  pale  ghosts, 
Faintly  besiege  us  one  hour  in  a  month. 

Alen.  They  want  their  porridge  and  their  fat  bull-beeves : 
Either  they  must  be  dieted  like  mules,  10 

And  have  their  provender  tied  to  their  mouths, 
Or  piteous  they  will  look,  like  drowned  mice. 

Reig.  Let 's  raise  the  siege:   why  live  we  idly  here? 
Talbot  is  taken,  whom  we  wont  to  fear : 
Remaineth  none  but  mad-brain'd  Salisbury; 
And  he  may  well  in  fretting  spend  his  gall, 
Nor  men  nor  money  hath  he  to  make  war. 

27 


Act  I.  Sc.  ii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Char.  Sound,  sound  alarum !   we  will  rush  on  them. 
Now  for  the  honour  of  the  forlorn  French ! 
Him  I  forgive  my  death  that  killeth  me  20 

When  he  sees  me  go  back  one  foot  or  fly.        [Exeunt. 

Here  Alarum;   they  are  beaten  back  by  the  English  zvith 
great  loss. 

Re-enter  Charles,  Alengon   and  Reignier. 

Char.  Who  ever  saw^  the  like  ?   what  men  have  I ! 

Dogs  !   cowards  !   dastards  !     I  would  ne'er  have  fled, 
But  that  they  left  me  'midst  my  enemies. 

Reig.   Salisbury  is  a  desperate  homicide ; 
He  fighteth  as  one  weary  of  his  life. 
The  other  lords,  like  lions  wanting  food, 
Do  rush  upon  us  as  their  hungry  prey. 

Alen.  Froissart,  a  countryman  of  ours,  records, 

England  all  Olivers  and  Rowlands  bred  30 

During  the  time  Edward  the  Third  did  reign. 

More  truly  now  may  this  be  verified ; 

For  none  but  Samsons  and  Goliases 

It  sendeth  forth  to  skirmish.     One  to  ten ! 

Lean  raw-boned  rascals !   who  would  e'er  suppose 

They  had  such  courage  and  audacity  ? 

CJiar.  Let  's  leave  this  town ;    for  they  are  hare-brain'd 
slaves. 
And  hunger  will  enforce  them  to  be  more  eager : 
Of  old  I  know  them ;   rather  with  their  teeth 
The  walls  they  '11  tear  down  than  forsake  the  siege. 

Reig.  I  think,  by  some  odd  gimmors  or  device  41 

Their  arms  are  set  like  clocks,  still  to  strike  on ; 
Else  ne'er  could  they  hold  out  so  as  they  do. 
By  my  consent,  we  '11  even  let  them  alone. 

28 


KING  HENRY  VL  Act  I.  Sc.  ii. 

AUn.  Be  it  so. 

Enter  the  Bastard  of  Orleans. 

Bast,  Where  's  the  Prince  Dauphin  ?  I  have  news  for  him. 

Char.  Bastard  of  Orleans,  thrice  welcome  to  us. 

Bast.  Methinks  your  looks  are  sad,  your  cheer  appall'd : 
Hath  the  late  overthrow  wrought  this  offence? 
Be  not  dismay'd,  for  succour  is  at  hand :  50 

A  holy  maid  hither  with  me  I  bring, 
Which  by  a  vision  sent  to  her  from  heaven 
Ordained  is  to  raise  this  tedious  siege, 
And  drive  the  English  forth  the  bounds  of  France. 
The  spirit  of  deep  prophecy  she  hath, 
Exceeding  the  nine  sibyls  of  old  Rome : 
What  's  past  and  what 's  to  come  she  can  descry. 
Speak,  shall  I  call  her  in  ?     Believe  my  words, 
For  they  are  certain  and  unfallible. 

Char.  Go,  call  her  in.      [Exit  Bastard.]      But  first,  to  try 
her  skill,  60 

Reignier,  stand  thou  as  Dauphin  in  my  place : 
Question  her  proudly  ;  let  thy  looks  be  -stern  : 
By  this  means  shall  we  sound  what  skill  she  hath. 

Re-enter  the  Bastard  of  Orleans,  zcith 
Joan  La  Pucelle. 

Reig.  Fair  maid,  is  't  thou  wilt  do  these  wondrous  feats  ? 
Puc.  Reignier,  is  't  thou  that  thinkest  to  beguile  me  ? 

Where  is  the  Dauphin  ?     Come,  come  from  behind  ; 

I  know  thee  well,  though  never  seen  before. 

Be  not  amazed,  there  's  nothing  hid  from  me: 

In  private  will  I  talk  with  thee  apart. 

Stand  back,  you  lords,  and  give  us  leave  awhile.    70 
Reig.  She  takes  upon  her  bravely  at  first  dash. 

29 


Act  I.  Sc.  ii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Puc.  Dauphin,  I  am  by  birth  a  shepherd's  daughter, 
]\I)'  wit  untrain'd  in  any  kind  of  art. 
Heaven  and  our  Lady  gracious  hath  it  pleased 
To  shine  on  my  contemptible  estate : 
Lo,  whilst  I  waited  on  my  tender  lambs, 
And  to  sun's  parching  heat  display'd  my  cheeks, 
God's  mother  deigned  to  appear  to  me, 
And  in  a  vision  full  of  majesty 

Will'd  me  to  leave  my  base  vocation,  80 

And  free  my  country  from  calamity : 
Her  aid  she  promised  and  assured  success : 
In  com.plete  glory  she  reveal'd  herself ; 
And,  whereas  I  was  black  and  swart  before, 
With  those  clear  rays  which  she  infused  on  me 
That  beauty  am  I  bless' d  with  which  you  see. 
Ask  me  what  question  thou  canst  possible, 
And  I  will  answer  unpremeditated : 
My  courage  try  by  combat,  if  thou  darest, 
And  thou  shalt  find  that  I  exceed  my  sex.  90 

Resolve  on  this,  thou  shalt  be  fortunate, 
If  thou 'receive  me  for  thy  warlike  mate. 

Char.  Thou  hast  astonish'd  me  with  thy  high  terms : 
Only  this  proof  I  '11  of  thy  valour  make. 
In  single  combat  thou  shalt  buckle  with  me. 
And  if  thou  vanquishest,  thy  words  are  true; 
Otherwise  I  renounce  all  confidence. 

Puc.  I  am  prepared :   here  is  my  keen-edged  sword, 
Deck'd  with  five  flower-de-luces  on  each  side; 
The  which  at  Touraine,  in  Saint  Katharine's  church- 
yard, roo 
Out  of  a  great  deal  of  old  iron  I  chose  forth. 

Char.  Then  come,  o'  God's  name ;   I  fear  no  woman. 

30 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  I.  Sc.  ii. 

Puc.  And  while  I  live,  I  '11  ne'er  fly  from  a  man. 

[Here  they  fight,  and  Joan  La  Pucelle  overcomes. 
Char.  Stay,  stay  thy  hands!   thou  art  an  Amazon, 

And  fightest  with  the  sword  of  Deborah. 
Puc.  Christ's  mother  helps  me,  else  I  were  too  weak. 
Char.  Whoe'er  helps  thee,  'tis  thou  that  must  help  me: 

Impatiently  I  bum  with  thy  desire ; 

My  heart  and  hands  thou  hast  at  once  subdued. 

Excellent  Pucelle,  if  thy  name  be  so,  no 

Let  me  thy  servant  and  not  sovereign  be : 

'Tis  the  French  Dauphin  sueth  to  thee  thus. 
Puc.  I  must  not  yield  to  any  rites  of  love, 

For  my  profession  's  sacred  from  above : 

When  I  have  chased  all  thy  foes  from  hence, 

Then  will  I  think  upon  a  recompense. 
Char.  Meantime  look  gracious  on  thy  prostrate  thrall. 
Reig.  My  lord,  methinks,  is  very  long  in  talk. 
Alen.  Doubtless  he  shrives  this  woman  to  her  smock ; 

Else  ne'er  could  he  so  long  protract  his  speech.     120 
Reig.  Shall  we  disturb  him,  since  he  keeps  no  mean  ? 
Alen.  He  may  mean  more  than  we  poor  men  do  know : 

These  women  are  shrewd  tempters  with  their  tongues. 
Reig.  My  lord,  where  are  you  ?  what  devise  you  on  ? 

Shall  we  give  over  Orleans,  or  no? 
Puc.  Why,  no,  I  say,  distrustful  recreants ! 

Fight  till  the  last  gasp ;   I  will  be  your  guard. 
Char.  What  she  says  I  '11  confirm  :  we  '11  fight  it  out. 
Puc.  Assign'd  am  I  to  be  the  English  scourge. 

This  night  the  siege  assuredly  I  '11  raise :  130 

Expect  Saint  Martin's  summer,  halcyon  days. 

Since  I  have  entered  into  these  wars. 

Glory  is  like  a  circle  in  the  water, 

31 


Act  I.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Which  never  ceaseth  to  enlarge  itself 

Till  by  broad  spreading  it  disperse  to  nought. 

With  Henry's  death  the  English  circle  ends ; 

Dispersed  are  the  glories  it  included. 

Now  am  I  like  that  proud  insulting  ship 

Which  Caesar  and  his  fortune  bare  at  once. 
Char.  Was  Mahomet  inspired  with  a  dove?  140 

Thou  with  an  eagle  art  inspired  then. 

Helen,  the  mother  of  great  Constantine, 

Nor  yet  Saint  Philip's  daughters,  were  like  thee. 

Bright  star  of  A^enus,  fall'n  down  on  the  earth, 

How  may  I  reverently  worship  thee  enough? 
Alen.  Leave  off  delays,  and  let  us  raise  the  siege. 
Reig.  Woman,  do  what  thou  canst  to  save  our  honours ; 

Drive  them  from  Orleans  and  be  immortalized. 
Char.  Presently  we  '11  try :   come,  let 's  away  about  it : 

No  prophet  will  I  trust,  if  she  prove  false.  150 

{Exeunt. 

Scene  III. 

London.     Before  the  Tower. 

Enter  the  Ditke  of  Gloucester,  zvith  his  Serving-men 
in  blue  coats. 

Glou.  I  am  come  to  survey  the  Tower  this  day : 

Since  Henry's  death,  I  fear,  there  is  conveyance. 
Where  be  these  warders,  that  they  wait  not  here  ? 
Open  the  gates ;   'tis  Gloucester  that  calls. 
First  Warder.    [  Within  ]   Who  's  there  that  knocks  so  im- 
periously ? 
First  Serz'.  It  is  the  noble  Duke  of  Gloucester. 
Second  Warder.  [Within]  Who  'er  he  be,  you  may  not  be 
let  in. 

32 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  I.  Sc.  lii. 

First  Serv.  \'illains,  answer  you  so  the  lord  protector  ? 

First  Warder,    [ll^ithin]   The  Lord  protect  him!    so  we 
answer  him : 
We  do  no  otherwise  than  we  are  will'd.  lo 

Clou.  Who  willed  you?  or  whose  will  stands  but  mine? 
There  's  none  protector  of  the  realm  but  L 
Break  up  the  gates,  I  '11  be  your  warrantize : 
Shall  I  be  flouted  thus  by  dunghill  grooms? 

[Gloucester's  men  rush  at  the  Tower  Gates,  and 
Woodvile  the  Lieutenant  speaks  within. 

Woodv.  What  noise  is  this?  what  traitors  have  we  here? 

Glou.  Lieutenant,  is  it  you  whose  voice  I  hear? 

Open    the    gates ;    here 's    Gloucester    that    would 
enter. 

Woodv.  Have  patience,  noble  duke  ;   I  may  not  open  ; 
The  Cardinal  of  Winchester  forbids : 
From  him  I  have  express  commandment  20 

That  thou  nor  none  of  thine  shall  be  let  in. 

Glou.  Faint-hearted  Woodvile,  prizest  him  'fore  me? 
Arrogant  Winchester,  the  haughty  prelate, 
Whom  Henry,  our  late  sovereign,  ne'er  could  brook? 
Thou  art  no  friend  to  God  or  to  the  king : 
Open  the  gates,  or  I  '11  shut  thee  out  shortly. 

Serving-men.  Open  the  gates  unto  the  lord  protector, 
Or  we  '11   burst  them   open,   if  that  you   come  not 
quickly. 

Enter  to  the  Protector  at  the  Tower  Gates  Winchester  and 
his  men  in  tazvny  coats. 

Win.  How  now,  ambitious  Humphry  !  what  means  this  ? 
Glou.  Peel'd  priest,  dost  thou  command  me  to  be  shut  out  ? 
Win.  I  do,  thou  most  usurping  proditor,  31 

33 


Act  I.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

And  not  protector,  of  the  king  or  realm. 

Glou.  Stand  back,  thou  manifest  conspirator, 

Thou  that  contrivedst  to  murder  our  dead  lord ; 
Thou  that  givest  whores  indulgences  to  sin : 
I  '11  canvass  thee  in  thy  broad  cardinal's  hat, 
If  thou  proceed  in  this  thy  insolence. 

Win.  Nay,  stand  thou  back ;   I  will  not  budge  a  foot : 
This  be'  Damascus,  be  thou  cursed  Cain, 
To  slay  thy  brother  Abel,  if  thou  wilt.  40 

Gloii.  I  will  not  slay  thee,  but  I  '11  drive  thee  back : 
Thy  scarlet  robes  as  a  child's  bearing-cloth 
I  '11  use  to  carry  thee  out  of  this  place. 

Win.  Do  what  thou  darest ;   I  beard  thee  to  thy  face. 

Gloii.  What !   am  I  dared  and  bearded  to  my  face  ? 
Draw,  men,  for  all  this  privileged  place ; 
Blue    coats    to    tawny    coats.     Priest,    beware    your 

beard ; 
I  mean  to  tug  it  and  to  cuff  you  soundly : 
Under  my  feet  I  stamp  thy  cardinal's  hat : 
In  spite  of  pope  or  dignities  of  church,  50 

Here  by  the  cheeks  I  '11  drag  thee  up  and  down. 

Win.  Gloucester,  thou  wilt  answer  this  before  the  pope. 

Glou.  Winchester  goose,  I  cry,  a  rope !   a  rope ! 

Now  beat  them  hence ;  why  do  you  let  them  stay  ? 
Thee  I  '11  chase  hence,  thou  wolf  in  sheep's  array. 
Out,  tawny  coats !    out,  scarlet  hypocrite ! 

Here  Gloucester's  men  heat  out  the  CardinaVs  men,  and 
enter  in  the  hurly-burly  the  Mayor  of  London  and' 
his  OMcers. 

May.  Fie,  lords  !  that  you,  being  supreme  magistrates, 

Thus  contumeliously  should  break  the  peace! 
Glou.  Peace,  mayor !  thou  know'st  little  of  my  wrongs ; 

34 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  I.  Sc.  iii. 

Here  's  Beaufort,  that  regards  nor  God  nor  king, 
Hath  here  distrain'd  the  Tower  to  his  use.  6i 

JVin.  Here  's  Gloucester,  a  foe  to  citizens, 

One  that  still  motions  war  and  never  peace, 

O'ercharging  your  free  purses  with  large  fines, 

That  seek  to  overthrow  religion, 

Because  he  is  protector  of  the  realm, 

And  would  have  armour  here  out  of  the  Tower, 

To  crown  himself  king  and  suppress  the  prince. 

Gloii.  I  will  not  answer  thee  wath  words,  but  blows. 

[Here  they  skirmish  again. 

May.  Nought  rests  for  me  in  this  tumultuous  strife        70 
But  to  make  open  proclamation  : 
Come  officer ;   as  loud  as  e'er  thou  canst : 
Cry. 

Off.  All  manner  of  men  assembled  here  in  arms  this 
day  against  God's  peace  and  the  king's,  we  charge 
and  command  you,  in  his  highness'  name,  to  repair 
to  your  several  dwelling-places  ;  and  not  to  w^ear, 
handle,  or  use  any  sword,  weapon,  or  dagger, 
henceforward,  upon  pain  of  death. 

Glou.  Cardinal,  I  '11  be  no  breaker  of  the  law:  80 

But  we  shall  meet,  and  break  our  minds  at  large. 

Win.  Gloucester,  we  will  meet ;  to  thy  cost,  be  sure : 
Thy  heart-blood  I  will  have  for  this  day's  w^ork. 

May.  I  '11  call  for  clubs,  if  you  will  not  aw^ay. 
This  cardinal  's  more  haughty  than  the  devil. 

Glou.  Mayor,  farewell :  thou  dost  but  what  thou  mayst. 

Win.  Abominable  Gloucester,  guard  thy  head ; 
For  I  intend  to  have  it  ere  long. 

[Exeunt,  severally  Gloucester  and  Winchester 
zvith  their  Serving-men. 

35 


Act  I.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

May.  See  the  coast  clear'd,  and  then  we  will  depart. 
Good  God,  these  nobles  should  such  stomachs  bear ! 
I  myself  fight  not  once  in  forty  year.  91 

[Exeunt. 

Scene   IV. 

Orleans. 
Enter  on  the  zvalls,  a  Master  Gunner  and  his  Boy. 

M.  Gun.  Sirrah,  thou  know'st  how  Orleans  is  besieged, 
And  how  the  English  have  the  suburbs  won. 

Boy.  Father,  I  know  ;  and  oft  have  shot  at  them, 
Howe'er  unfortunate  I  miss'd  my  aim. 

M.  Gun.  But   now    thou   shalt   not.     Be   thou    ruled   by 
me : 
Chief  master-gunner  am  I  of  this  town ; 
Something  I  must  do  to  procure  me  grace. 
The  prince's  espials  have  informed  me 
How  the  English,  in  the  suburbs  close  intrench'd. 
Wont  through  a  secret  grate  of  iron  bars  10 

In  yonder  tower  to  overpeer  the  city, 
And  thence  discover  how  with  most  advantage 
They  may  vex  us  with  shot  or  with  assault. 
To  intercept  this  inconvenience, 
A  piece  of  ordnance  'gainst  it  I  have  placed ; 
And  even  these  three  days  have  I  watch'd, 
If  I  could  see  them. 

Now  do  thou  watch,  for  I  can  stay  no  longer. 
If  thou  spy'st  any,  run  and  bring  me  word ; 
And  thou  shalt  find  me  at  the  governor's.       [Exit.  20 

Boy.  Father,  I  warrant  you  ;  take  you  no  care ; 

I  '11  never  trouble  you,  if  I  may  spy  them.         [Exit. 

36 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  I.  Sc.  iv. 

Enter,  on  the  turrets,  the  Lords  Salisbury  and  Talbot,  Sir 
William  Glansdale,  Sir  Thomas  Gargrave,  and  others. 

Sal.  Talbot,  my  life,  my  joy,  again  return'd ! 
How^  wert  thou  handled  being  prisoner  ? 
Or  by  what  means  got'st  thou  to  be  released? 
Discourse,  I  prithee,  on  this  turret's  top. 

Tal.  The  Duke  of  Bedford  had  a  prisoner 

Call'd  the  brave  Lord  Ponton  de  Santrailles ; 

For  him  was  I  exchanged  and  ransomed. 

But  with  a  baser  man  of  arms  by  far  30 

Once  in  contempt  they  would  have  barter'd  me : 

Which  I  disdaining  scorn'd,  and  craved  death 

Rather  than  I  would  be  so  vile-esteem'd. 

In  fine,  redeem'd  I  was  as  I  desired. 

But,  O !   the  treacherous  Fastolfe  wounds  my  heart, 

Whom  with  my  bare  fists  I  would  execute, 

If  I  now  had  him  brought  into  my  power. 

Sal.  Yet  tell'st  thou  not  how  thou  wert  entertain'd. 

Tal.  With  scoffs  and  scorns  and  contumelious  taunts 

In  open  market-place  produced  they  me,  40 

To  be  a  public  spectacle  to  all : 

Here,  said  they,  is  the  terror  of  the  French, 

The  scarecrow  that  afifrights  our  children  so. 

Then  broke  I  from  the  ofHcers  that  led  me. 

And  with  my  nails  digg'd  stones  out  of  the  ground, 

To  hurl  at  the  beholders  of  my  shame : 

My  grisly  countenance  made  others  fly  ; 

None  durst  come  near  for  fear  of  sudden  death. 

In  iron  walls  they  deem'd  me  not  secure ; 

So  great  fear  of  my  name  'mongst  them  was  spread 

That  they  supposed  I  could  rend  bars  of  steel,        51 

37 


Act  I.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

And  spurn  in  pieces  posts  of  adamant : 
Wherefore  a  guard  of  chosen  shot  I  had, 
That  walk'd  about  me  every  minute  while ; 
And  if  I  did  but  stir  out  of  my  bed, 
Ready  they  were  to  shoot  me  to  the  heart. 

Enter  the  Boy  zvith  a  linstock. 

Sal.  I  grieve  to  hear  what  torments  you  endured, 

But  we  wnll  be  revenged  sufficiently. 

Now  it  is  supper-time  in  Orleans : 

Here,  through  this  grate,  I  count  each  one,  60 

And  view  the  Frenchmen  how  they  fortify : 

Let  us  look  in  ;  the  sight  will  much  delight  thee. 

Sir  Thomas  Gargrave,  and  Sir  William  Glansdale, 

Let  me  have  your  express  opinions 

Where  is  best  place  to  make  our  battery  next. 
Gar.  I  think,  at  the  north  gate ;  for  there  stand  lords. 
Glan.  And  I,  here,  at  the  bulwark  of  the  bridge. 
Tal.  For  aught  I  see,  this  city  must  be  famish'd, 

Or  with  light  skirmishes  enfeebled. 

[Here  they  shoot.     Salisbury  and  Gargrave  fall. 
Sal.  O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  us,  wretched  sinners  !         70 
Gar.  O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  me,  woful  man ! 
Tal.  What  chance  is  this  that  suddenly  hath  cross'd  us  ? 

Speak,  Salisbury ;   at  least,  if  thou  canst  speak : 

How  farest  thou,  mirror  of  all  martial  men  ? 

One  of  thy  eyes  and  thy  cheek's  side  struck  off ! 

Accursed  tower !   accursed  fatal  hand 

That  hath  contrived  this  woful  tragedy ! 

In  thirteen  battles  Salisbury  o'ercame ; 

Henry  the  Fifth  he  first  train'd  to  the  wars ; 

Whilst  any  trump  did  sound,  or  drum  struck  up,    80 

38 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  I.  Sc.  iv. 

His  sword  did  ne'er  leave  striking  in  the  field. 

Yet  livest  thou,  Salisbury?   though  thy  speech  doth 

fail, 
One  eye  thou  hast,  to  look  to  heaven  for  grace : 
The  sun  with  one  eye  vieweth  all  the  world. 
Heaven,  be  thou  gracious  to  none  alive, 
If  Salisbury  wants  mercy  at  thy  hands ! 
Bear  hence  his  body ;   I  will  help  to  bury  it. 
Sir  Thomas  Gargrave,  has  thou  any  life  ? 
Speak  unto  Talbot ;  nay,  look  up  to  him. 
Salisbury,  cheer  thy  spirit  with  this  comfort ;  90 

Thou  shalt  not  die  whiles — 
He  beckons  with  his  hand  and  smiles  on  me, 
As  who  should  say  '  When  I  am  dead  and  gone, 
Remember  to  avenge  me  on  the  French.' 
Plantagenet,  I  will ;   and  like  thee,  Nero, 
Play  on  the  lute,  beholding  the  towns  burn : 
Wretched  shall  France  be  only  in  my  name. 

[Here  an  alarum,  and  it  thunders  and  lightens. 
What  stir  is  this  ?   what  tumult  's  in  the  heavens  ? 
Whence  cometh  this  alarum,  and  the  noise? 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Mess.  My  lord,  my  lord,  the  French  have  gather'd  head : 
The  Dauphin,  with  one  Joan  la  Pucelle  join'd,       10 1 
A  holy  prophetess  new  risen  up. 
Is  come  with  a  great  power  to  raise  the  siege. 

[Here  Salisbury  lifteth  himself  up  and  groans. 

Tal.  Hear,  hear  how  dying  Salisbury  doth  groan ! 
It  irks  his  heart  he  cannot  be  revenged. 
Frenchmen,  I  '11  be  a  Salisbury  to  you : 
Pucelle  or  puzzel,  dolphin  or  dogfish, 

39 


Act  I.  Sc.  V.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Your  hearts  I  '11  stamp  out  with  my  horse's  heels, 
And  make  a  quagmire  of  your  mingled  brains. 
Convey  me  SaHsbury  into  his  tent,  no 

And  then  we  '11  try  what  these  dastard  Frenchmen 
dare.  [Alarum.     Exeunt. 

Scene  V. 

The  same. 

Here  an  alarum  again:  and  Talbot  pursueth  the  Dauphin, 
and  driveth  him:  then  enter  Joan  La  Pucelle,  dri- 
ving Englishmen  before  her  and  exit  after  them: 
then  re-enter  Talbot. 

Tal.  Where  is  my  strength,  my  valour,  and  my  force? 
Our  English  troops  retire,  I  cannot  stay  them : 
A  woman  clad  in  armour  chaseth  them. 

Re-enter  La  Pucelle. 

Here,  here  she  comes.     I  '11  have  a  bout  with  thee ; 
Devil  or  devil's  dam,  I  '11  conjure  thee : 
Blood  will  I  draw  on  thee,  thou  art  a  witch. 
And  straightway  give  thy  soul  to  him  thou  servest. 
Puc.  Come,  come,  'tis  only  I  that  must  disgrace  thee. 

[Here  they  fight. 
Tal.  Heavens,  can  you  suffer  hell  so  to  prevail? 

My  breast  I  '11  burst  with  straining  of  my  courage,  lo 
And  from  my  shoulders  crack  my  arms  asunder. 
But  I  will  chastise  this  high-minded  strumpet. 

[They  fight  again. 
Puc.  Talbot,  farewell ;  thy  hour  is  not  yet  come : 
I  must  go  victual  Orleans  forthwith. 

[A  short  alarum :   then  enter  the  town 

zvith  soldiers. 

40 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  i.  Sc.  v. 

O'ertake  me,  if  thou  canst;   I  scorn  thy  strength. 
Go,  go,  cheer  up  thy  hungry-starved  men  ; 
Help  SaHsbury  to  make  his  testament : 
This  day  is  ours,  as  many  more  shall  be.  {Exit. 

Tal.  My  thoughts  are  whirled  like  a  potter's  wheel ; 

I  know  not  where  I  am,  nor  what  I  do :  20 

A  witch,  by  fear,  not  force,  like  Hannibal, 
Drives  back  our  troops  and  conquers  as  she  lists : 
So  bees  with  smoke  and  doves  with  noisome  stench 
Are  from  their  hives  and  houses  driven  away. 
They  call'd  us  for  our  fierceness  English  dogs; 
Now,  like  to  whelps,  we  crying  run  away. 

[A  short  alarum. 
Hark,  countrymen !    either  renew  the  fight, 
Or  tear  the  lions  out  of  England's  coat ; 
Renounce  your  soil,  give  sheep  in  lions'  stead : 
Sheep  run  not  half  so  treacherous  from  the  wolf,    3c 
Or  horse  or  oxen  from  the  leopard. 
As  you  fly  from  your  oft-subdued  slaves. 

[Alarum.     Here  another  skirmish. 
It  will  not  be  :   retire  into  your  trenches : 
You  all  consented  unto  Salisbury's  death. 
For  none  would  strike  a  stroke  in  his  revenge. 
Pucelle  is  enter'd  into  Orleans, 
In  spite  of  us  or  aught  that  we  could  do. 
O  would  I  were  to  die  with  Salisbury ! 
The  shame  hereof  will  make  me  hide  my  head. 

[Exit  Talbot.     Alarum;  retreat;  Nourish. 


41 


Act  I.  Sc.  vi.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Scene  VI. 

The  same. 

Enter,  on  the  walls,  La  Pucelle,  Charles,  Reignier, 
Alencon,  and  Soldiers. 

Flic.  Advance  our  waving  colours  on  the  walls ; 
Rescued  is  Orleans  from  the  English : 
Tlius  Joan  la  Pucelle  hath  perform'd  her  word. 

Char.  Divinest  creature,  Astrsea's  daughter, 
How  shall  I  honour  thee  for  this  success  ? 
Thy  promises  are  like  Adonis'  gardens 
That  one  day  bloom'd  and  fruitful  were  the  next. 
France,  triumph  in  thy  glorious  prophetess ! 
Recover'd  is  the  town  of  Orleans : 
More  blessed  hap  did  ne'er  befall  our  state.  lo 

Reig.  Why  ring  not  out  the  bells  aloud  throughout  the 
town? 
Dauphin,  command  the  citizens  make  bonfires 
And  feast  and  banquet  in  the  open  streets. 
To  celebrate  the  joy  that  God  hath  given  us. 

Alen.  All  France  will  be  replete  with  mirth  and  joy, 
When  they  shall  hear  how  we  have  play'd  the  men. 

Char.  'Tis  Joan,  not  we,  by  whom  the  day  is  won ; 
For  which  I  will  divide  my  crown  with  her. 
And  all  the  priests  and  friars  in  my  realm 
Shall  in  procession  sing  her  endless  praise.  20 

A  statelier  pyramis  to  her  I  '11  rear 
Than  Rhodope's  or  Memphis'  ever  was : 
In  memory  of  her  when  she  is  dead, 
Her  ashes,  in  an  urn  more  precious 
Than  the  rich-jewel'd  coffer  of  Darius, 
Transported  shall  be  at  high  festivals 
42 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  i. 

Before  the  kings  and  queens  of  France. 

No  longer  on  Saint  Denis  will  we  cry, 

But  Joan  la  Pucelle  shall  be  France's  saint. 

Come  in,  and  let  us  banquet  royally,  30 

After  this  golden  day  of  victory. 

[Flourish.     Exeunt. 

ACT  SECOND. 

Scene  I. 

Before  Orleans. 
Enter  a  Sergeant  of  a  band    zvith  tivo  Sentinels. 

Serg.  Sirs,  take  your  places  and  be  vigilant : 
If  any  noise  or  soldier  you  perceive 
Near  to  the  walls,  by  some  apparent  sign 
Let  us  have  knowledge  at  the  court  of  guard. 

First  Sent.  Sergeant,  you  shall.      [Exit  Sergeant.]     Thus 
are  poor  servitors, 
When  others  sleep  upon  their  quiet  beds, 
Constrained  to  watch  in  darkness,  rain  and  cold. 

Enter  Talbot,  Bedford,  Burgundy,  and  forces,  zvith  sca- 
ling ladders,  their  drums  beating  a  dead  march. 

Tal.  Lord  Regent,  and  redoubted  Burgundy, 
By  w^hose  approach  the  regions  of  Artois, 
Wallon  and  Picardy  are  friends  to  us,  10 

This  happy  night  the  Frenchmen  are  secure, 
Having  all  day  caroused  and  banqueted : 
Embrace  we  then  this  opportunitv, 
As  fitting  best  to  quittance  their  deceit 
Contrived  by  art  and  baleful  sorcery. 

43 


Act  II.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Bed.  Coward  of  France !  how  much  he  wrongs  his  fame, 
Despairing  of  his  own  arm's  fortitude, 
To  join  with  witches  and  the  help  of  hell ! 

Bur.  Traitors  have  never  other  company. 

But  what 's  that  Pucelle  whom  they  term  so  pure  ? 

Tal.  A  maid,  they  say. 

Bed.  A  maid !  and  be  so  martial !         21 

Bur.  Pray  God  she  prove  not  masculine  ere  long, 
If  underneath  the  standard  of  the  French 
She  carry  armour  as  she  hath  begun. 

Tal.  Well,  let  them  practise  and  converse  with  spirits : 
God  is  our  fortress,  in  whose  conquering  name 
Let  us  resolve  to  scale  their  flinty  bulwarks. 

Bed.  Ascend,  brave  Talbot ;   we  will  follow  thee. 

Tal.  Not  all  together :   better  far,  I  guess. 

That  we  do  make  our  entrance  several  ways ;  30 

That,  if  it  chance  the  one  of  us  do  fail, 
The  other  yet  may  rise  against  their  force. 

Bed.  Agreed  :  I  '11  to  yond  corner. 

Bur.  And  I  to  this. 

Tal.  And  here  will  Talbot  mount,  or  make  his  grave. 
Now,  Salisbury,  for  thee,  and  for  the  right 
Of  English  Henry,  shall  this  night  appear 
How  much  in  duty  I  am  bound  to  both. 

Sent.  Arm !  arm  !   the  enemy  doth  make  assault ! 

[Cry:     '  St.  George;  '  A  Talbot.' 

The  French  leap  over  the  walls  in  their  shirts.  Enter, 
several  zuays,  the  Bastard  of  Orleans,  Alengon,  and 
Reignier,  half  ready,  and  half  unready. 

Alcn.  How  now,  my  lords!   what,  all  unready  so? 

Bast.  Unready !   ay,  and  glad  we  'scaped  so  well.  40 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  i. 

Reig.  'Twas  time,  I  trow,  to  wake  and  leave  our  beds, 
Hearing  alarums  at  our  chamber-doors. 

Alen.  Of  all  exploits  since  first  I  followed  arms, 
Ne'er  heard  I  of  a  warlike  enterprise 
More  venturous  or  desperate  than  this. 

Bast.  I  think  this  Talbot  be  a  fiend  of  hell. 

Rcig.  If  not  of  hell,  the  heavens,  sure,  favour  him. 

Alcn.  Here  cometh  Charles :   I  marvel  how  he  sped. 

Bast.  Tut,  holy  Joan  was  his  defensive  guard. 

Enter  Charles  and  La  Pucelle. 

Char.  Is  this  thy  cunning,  thou  deceitful  dame?  50 

Didst  thou  at  first,  to  flatter  us  withal. 
Make  us  partakers  of  a  little  gain, 
That  now  our  loss  might  be  ten  times  so  much  ? 

Puc.  Wherefore  is  Charles  impatient  with  his  friend? 
At  all  times  will  you  have  my  power  alike  ? 
Sleeping  or  w^aking  must  I  still  prevail. 
Or  will  you  blame  and  lay  the  fault  on  me? 
Improvident  soldiers !   had  your  watch  been  good. 
This  sudden  mischief  never  could  have  falFn. 

Char.  Duke  of  Alengon,  this  was  your  default,  60 

That,  being  captain  of  the  watch  to-night, 
Did  look  no  better  to  that  weighty  charge. 

Alen.  Had  all  your  quarters  been  as  safely  kept 
As  that  whereof  I  had  the  government. 
We  had  not  been  thus  shamefully  surprised. 

Bast.  Mine  was  secure. 

Reig.  And  so  w^as  mine,  my  lord. 

Char.  And,  for  myself,  most  part  of  all  this  night, 
Within  her  quarter  and  mine  own  precinct 
I  was  employ'd  in  passing  to  and  fro, 

45 


Act  II.  Sc.  ii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

About  relieving  of  the  sentinels  :  70 

Then  how  or  which  way  should  they  first  break  in  ? 
Puc.  Question,  my  lords,  no  further  of  the  case, 

How  or  which  way :   'tis  sure  they  found  some  place 
But  weakly  guarded,  where  the  breach  was  made. 
And  now  there  rests  no  other  shift  but  this ; 
To  gather  our  soldiers,  scatter'd  and  dispersed, 
And  lay  new  platforms  to  endamage  them. 

Alarum.     Enter  an  English  Soldier,  crying,  'A  Talbot! 
a  Talbot!'     They  iiy,  leaving  their  clothes  behind. 

Sold.  I  '11  be  so  bold  to  take  what  they  have  left. 
The  cry  of  Talbot  serves  me  for  a  sword ; 
For  I  have  loaden  me  with  many  spoils,  80 

Using  no  other  weapon  but  his  name.  [Exit. 

Scene  II. 

Orleans.     Within  the  town. 
Enter  Talbot,  Bedford,  Burgundy,  a  Captain,  and  others. 

Bed.  The  day  begins  to  break,  and  night  is  fled. 
Whose  pitchy  mantle  over-veil'd  the  earth. 
Here  sound  retreat,  and  cease  our  hot  pursuit. 

[Retreat  sounded. 

Tal.  Bring  forth  the  body  of  old  Salisbury, 
And  here  advance  it  in  the  market-place. 
The  middle  centre  of  this  cursed  town. 
Now  have  I  paid  my  vow  unto  his  soul ; 
For  every  drop  of  blood  was  drawn  from  him 
There  hath  at  least  five  Frenchmen  died  to-night. 
And  that  hereafter  ages  may  behold  10 

What  ruin  happen'd  in  revenge  of  him, 

46 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  li. 

Within  their  chiefest  temple  I  '11  erect 

A  tomb,  wherein  his  corpse  shall  be  interr'd : 

Upon  the  which,  that  every  one  may  read, 

Shall  be  engraved  the  sack  of  Orleans, 

The  treacherous  manner  of  his  mournful  death 

And  what  a  terror  he  had  been  to  France. 

But,  lords,  in  all  our  bloody  massacre 

I  muse  we  met  not  with  the  Dauphin's  grace, 

His  new-come  champion,  virtuous  Joan  of  Arc,     20 

Nor  any  of  his  false  confederates. 

Bed.  'Tis  thought.  Lord  Talbot,  when  the  fight  began. 
Roused  on  the  sudden  from  their  drowsy  beds, 
They  did  amongst  the  troops  of  armed  men 
Leap  o'er  the  w^alls  for  refuge  in  the  field. 

Bur.  Myself,  as  far  as  I  could  well  discern 

For  smoke  and  dusky  vapours  of  the  night, 

Am  sure  I  scared  the  Dauphin  and  his  trull, 

When  arm  in  arm  they  both  came  swiftly  running, 

Like  to  a  pair  of  loving  turtle-doves  30 

That  could  not  live  asunder  day  or  night. 

After  that  things  are  set  in  order  here. 

We  '11  follow  them  with  all  the  power  we  have. 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Mess.  All  hail,  my  lords  !     Which  of  this  princely  train 
Call  ye  the  warHke  Talbot,  for  his  acts 
So  much  applauded  through  the  realm  of  France? 

Tal.  Here  is  the  Talbot :  who  would  speak  with  him  ? 

Mess.  The  virtuous  lady,  Countess  of  Auvergne, 
With  modesty  admiring  thy  renown. 
By  me  entreats,  great  lord,  thou  wouldst  vouchsafe 
To  visit  her  poor  castle  where  she  lies,  41 

47 


Act  II.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

That  she  may  boast  she  hath  beheld  the  man 
Whose  glory  fills  the  world  with  loud  report. 

Bur.  Is  it  even  so?     Nay,  then,  I  see  our  wars 
Will  turn  unto  a  peaceful  comic  sport, 
When  ladies  crave  to  be  encounter'd  with. 
You  may  not,  my  lord,  despise  her  gentle  suit. 

Tal.  Ne'er  trust  me  then  ;   for  when  a  world  of  men 
Could  not  prevail  with  all  their  oratory. 
Yet  hath  a  woman's  kindness  over-ruled :  50 

And  therefore  tell  her  I  return  great  thanks, 
And  in  submission  will  attend  on  her. 
Will  not  your  honours  bear  me  company  ? 

Bed.  No,  truly  ;   it  is  more  than  manners  will : 
And  I  have  heard  it  said,  unbidden  guests 
Are  often  welcomest  when  they  are  gone. 

Tal.  Well  then,  alone,  since  there  's  no  remedy, 
I  mean  to  prove  this  lady's  courtesy. 
Come  hither,  captain.    [Whispers.]    You  perceive  my 
mind? 

Capt.  I  do,  my  lord,  and  mean  accordingly.  60 

[Exeunt. 

Scene  III. 

Auvergne.     The  Countess's  castle. 
Enter  the   Countess  and  her  Porter. 

Count.  Porter,  remember  what  I  gave  in  charge ; 

And  when  you  have  done  so,  bring  the  keys  to  me. 
Port.  iMadam,  I  will.  [Exit. 

Count.  The  plot  is  laid :   if  all  things  fall  out  right, 

I  shall  as  famous  be  by  this  exploit 

As  Scythian  Tomyris  by  Cyrus'  death. 

48 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  iii. 

Great  Is  the  rumour  of  this  dreadful  knight. 

And  his  achievements  of  no  less  account : 

Fain  would  mine  eyes  be  witness  with  mine  ears, 

To  give  their  censure  of  these  rare  reports.  lo 

Enter  Messenger  and  Talbot. 

Mess.  Madam, 

According  as  your  ladyship  desired, 

By  message  craved,  so  is  Lord  Talbot  come. 

Count.  And  he  is  welcome.     What!   is  this  the  man? 

Mess.  Madam,  it  is. 

Count.  Is  this  the  scourge  of  France? 

Is  this  the  Talbot,  so  much  fear'd  abroad 
That  with  his  name  the  mothers  still  their  babes  ? 
I  see  report  is  fabulous  and  false : 
I  thought  I  should  have  seen  some  Hercules, 
A  second  Hector,  for  his  grim  aspect,  20 

.    And  large  proportion  of  his  strong-knit  limbs. 
Alas,  this  is  a  child,  a  silly  dwarf ! 
It  cannot  be  this  weak  and  writhled  shrimp 
Should  strike  such  terror  to  his  enemies. 

Tal.  Madam,  I  have  been  bold  to  trouble  you ; 
But  since  your  ladyship  is  not  at  leisure, 
I  '11  sort  some  other  time  to  visit  you. 

Count.  What  means  he  now  ?    Go  ask  him  whither  he  goes. 

Mess.  Stay,  my  Lord  Talbot ;   for  my  lady  craves 

To  know  the  cause  of  your  abrupt  departure.  30 

Tal.  Marry,  for  that  she  's  in  a  wrong  belief, 
I  go  to  certify  her  Talbot 's  here. 

Re-enter  Porter  witli  keys. 
Count.   If  thou  be  he,  then  art  thou  prisoner. 

49 


Act  II.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Tal.  Prisoner !  to  whom  ? 

Count.  To  me,  blood-thirsty  lord ; 

And  for  that  cause  I  train'd  thee  to  my  house. 
Long  time  thy  shadow  had  been  thrall  to  me, 
For  in  my  gallery  thy  picture  hangs : 
But  now  the  substance  shall  endure  the  like, 
And  I  will  chain  these  legs  and  arms  of  thine, 
That  hast  by  tyranny  these  many  years  40 

Wasted  our  country,  slain  our  citizens, 
And  sent  our  sons  and  husbands  captivate. 

Tal.  Ha,  ha,  ha! 

Count.  Laughest  thou,  wretch?    thy  mirth  shall  turn  to 
moan. 

Tal.  I  laugh  to  see  your  ladyship  so  fond 

To  think  that  you  have  aught  but  Talbot's  shadow 
Whereon  to  practise  your  severity. 

Count.  Why,  art  not  thou  the  man? 

Tal.  I  am  indeed. 

Count.  Then  have  I  substance  too. 

Tal.  No,  no,  I  am  but  shadow  of  myself :  50 

You  are  deceived,  my  substance  is  not  here ; 
For  what  you  see  is  but  the  smallest  part 
And  least  proportion  of  humanity : 
I  tell  you,  madam,  were  the  whole  frame  here, 
It  is  of  such  a  spacious  lofty  pitch. 
Your  roof  were  not  sufiBcient  to  contain  't. 

Count.  This  is  a  riddling  merchant  for  the  nonce ; 
He  will  be  here,  and  yet  he  is  not  here : 
How  can  these  contrarieties  agree? 

Tal.  That  will  I  show  you  presently.  60 

[Winds  his  horn.    Drums  strike  up:  a  peal 

of  ordnance.    Enter  Soldiers, 

so 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  iv. 

How  say  you,  madam  ?  are  you  now  persuaded 

That  Talbot  is  but  shadow  of  himself  ? 

These  are  his  substance,  sinews,  arms  and  strength, 

With  which  he  yoketh  your  rebellious  necks, 

Razeth  your  cities  and  subverts  your  towns 

And  in  a  moment  makes  them  desolate. 
Count.  Victorious  Talbot!  pardon  my  abuse: 

I  find  thou  art  no  less  than  fame  hath  bruited, 

And  more  than  may  be  gather 'd  by  thy  shape. 

Let  my  presumption  not  provoke  thy  wrath ;  70 

For  I  am  sorry  that  with  reverence 

I  did  not  entertain  thee  as  thou  art. 
Tal.  Be  not  dismay'd,  fair  lady ;   nor  misconstrue 

The  mind  of  Talbot,  as  you  did  mistake 

The  outward  composition  of  liis  body. 

What  you  have  done  hath  not  offended  me ; 

Nor  other  satisfaction  do  I  crave, 

But  only,  with  your  patience,  that  we  may 

Taste  of  your  wine  and  see  what  cates  you  have ; 

For  soldiers'  stomachs  always  serve  them  well.        80 
Count.  With  all  my  heart,  and  think  me  honoured 

To  feast  so  great  a  warrior  in  my  house.        [Exeunt. 

Scene  IV. 

London.     The  Temple-garden. 

Enter  the  Earls   of  Somerset,   Suffolk,   and    Warwick; 
Richard  Plantagenet,  Vernon,  and  another  Lazvyer. 

Plan.  Great  lords  and  gentlemen,  what  means  this  silence? 

Dare  no  man  answer  in  a  case  of  truth  ? 
Suf.  Within  the  Temple-hall  we  were  too  loud ; 

The  garden  here  is  more  convenient. 

51 


Act  II.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Plan.  Then  say  at  once  if  I  maintain'd  the  truth ; 

Or  else  was  wrangHng  Somerset  in  the  error? 
Suf.  Faith,  I  have  been  a  truant  in  the  law, 

And  never  yet  could  frame  my  will  to  it ; 

And  therefore  frame  the  law  unto  my  will.  9 

Sum.  Judge  you,  my  lord  of  Warwick,  then,  between  us. 
War.  Between  two  hawks,  wdiich  flies  the  higher  pitch ; 

Between  two  dogs,  which  hath  the  deeper  mouth ; 

Between  two  blades,  which  bears  the  better  temper ; 

Between  two  horses,  which  doth  bear  him  best ; 

Between  two  girls,  which  hath  the  merriest  eye ; 

I  have  perhaps  some  shallow  spirit  of  judgement: 

But  in  these  nice  sharp  quillets  of  the  law, 

Good  faith,  I  am  no  wiser  than  a  daw. 
Plan.  Tut,  tut,  here  is  a  mannerly  forbearance : 

The  truth  appears  so  naked  on  my  side  20 

That  any  purblind  eye  may  find  it  out. 
Som.  And  on  my  side  it  is  so  well  apparell'd, 

So  clear,  so  shining  and  so  evident 

That  it  will  glimmer  through  a  blind  man's  eye. 
Plan.  Since  you  are  tongue-tied  and  so  loath  to  speak, 

In  dumb  significants  proclaim  your  thoughts: 

Let  him  that  is  a  true-born  gentleman, 

And  stands  upon  the  honour  of  his  birth, 

If  he  suppose  that  I  have  pleaded  truth. 

From  off  this  brier  pluck  a  white  rose  with  me.        30 
Som.  Let  him  that  is  no  coward  nor  no  flatterer, 

But  dare  maintain  the  party  of  the  truth. 

Pluck  a  red  rose  from  off  this  thorn  with  me. 
War.  I  love  no  colours,  and  without  all  colour 

Of  base  insinuating  flattery 

I  pluck  this  white  rose  with  Plantagenet. 

52 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  iv. 

Siif.  I  pluck  this  red  rose  with  young  Somerset, 
And  say  withal  I  think  he  held  the  right. 

Ver.  Stay,  lords  and  gentlemen,  and  pluck  no  more, 

Till  you  conclude  that  he,  upon  whose  side  40 

The  fewest  roses  are  cropp'd  from  the  tree, 
Shall  yield  the  other  in  the  right  opinion. 

Som.  Good  Master  Vernon,  it  is  well  objected: 
If  I  have  fewest,  I  subscribe  in  silence. 

Plan.  And  I. 

Ver.  Then  for  the  truth  and  plainness  of  the  case, 
I  pluck  this  pale  and  maiden  blossom  here, 
Giving  my  verdict  on  the  white  rose  side. 

So7fi.  Prick  not  your  finger  as  you  pluck  it  off. 

Lest  bleeding  you  do  paint  the  white  rose  red,  50 

And  fall  on  my  side  so,  against  your  will. 

Ver,  If  I,  my  lord,  for  my  opinion  bleed. 
Opinion  shall  be  surgeon  to  my  hurt 
And  keep  me  on  the  side  where  still  I  am. 

Som.  Well,  well,  come  on :   who  else  ? 

LaK'.  Unless  my  study  and  my  books  be  false, 
The  argument  you  held  was  wrong  in  you ; 

[To  Somerset. 
In  sign  whereof  I  pluck  a  white  rose  too. 

Plan.  Now,  Somerset,  where  is  your  argument? 

Som.  Here  in  my  scabbard,  meditating  that  60 

Shall  dye  your  white  rose  in  a  bloody  red. 

Plan.  Meantime  your  cheeks  do  counterfeit  our  roses ; 
For  pale  they  look  with  fear,  as  witnessing 
The  truth  on  our  side. 

Som.  No,  Plantagenet, 

'Tis  not  for  fear  but  anger  that  my  cheeks 
Blush  for  pure  shame  to  counterfeit  our  roses, 

53 


Act  II.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

And  yet  thy  tongue  will  not  confess  thy  error. 
Plan.  Hath  not  thy  rose  a  canker,  Somerset  ? 
Som.  Hath  not  thy  rose  a  thorn,  Plantagenet  ? 
Plan.  Ay,  sharp  and  piercing,  to  maintain  his  truth  ;      70 

Whiles  thy  consuming  canker  eats  his  falsehood. 
Som.  Well,  I  '11  find  friends  to  wear  my  bleeding  roses. 

That  shall  maintain  what  I  have  said  is  true, 

Where  false  Plantagenet  dare  not  be  seen. 
Plan.  Now,  by  this  maiden  blossom  in  my  hand, 

I  scorn  thee  and  thy  fashion,  peevish  boy. 
Snf.  Turn  not  thy  scorns  this  way,  Plantagenet. 
Plai:.   Proud  Pole,  I  will,  and  scorn  both  him  and  thee. 
Snf.  I  '11  turn  my  part  thereof  into  thy  throat. 
Som,  Away,  away,  good  William  de  la  Pole !  80 

We  grace  the  yeoman  by  conversing  with  him. 
War.  Now,  by  God's  will,  thou  wrong'st  him,  Somerset ; 

His  grandfather  was  Lionel  Duke  of  Clarence, 

Third  son  to  the  third  Edward  King  of  England : 

Spring  crestless  yeoman  from  so  deep  a  root  ? 
Plan.  He  bears  him  on  the  place's  privilege. 

Or  durst  not,  for  his  craven  heart,  say  thus. 
Som.  By  him  that  made  me,  I  '11  maintain  my  words 

On  any  plot  of  ground  in  Christendom. 

Was  not  thy  father,  Richard  Earl  of  Cambridge,    90 

For  treason  executed  in  our  late  king's  days  ? 

And,  by  his  treason,  stand'st  not  thou  attainted. 

Corrupted,  and  exempt  from  ancient  gentry  ? 

His  trespass  yet  lives  guilty  in  thy  blood ; 

And,  till  thou  be  restored,  thou  art  a  yeoman. 
Plan.  My  father  was  attached,  not  attainted, 

Condemn'd  to  die  for  treason,  but  no  traitor ; 

And  that  I  '11  prove  on  better  men  than  Somerset, 

54 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  iv. 

Were  growing  time  once  ripen'd  to  my  will. 

For  your  partaker  Pole  and  you  yourself,  lOO 

I  '11  note  you  in  my  book  of  memory, 

To  scourge  you  for  this  apprehension : 

Look  to  it  well  and  say  you  are  well-warn'd. 

Som.  Ah,  thou  shalt  find  us  ready  for  thee  still ; 
And  know  us  by  these  colours  for  thy  foes, 
For  these  my  friends  in  spite  of  thee  shall  wear. 

Plan.  And,  by  my  soul,  this  pale  and  angry  rose. 
As  cognizance  of  my  blood-drinking  hate, 
Will  I  for  ever  and  my  faction  wear. 
Until  it  wither  with  me  to  my  grave,  no 

Or  flourish  to  the  height  of  my  degree. 

Siif.  Go  forward  and  be  choked  with  thy  ambition ! 

And  so  farewell  until  I  meet  thee  next.  {Exit. 

Som.  Have  with  thee,  Pole.     Farewell  ambitious  Richard. 

[Exit. 

Plan.  How  I  am  braved  and  must  perforce  endure  it ! 

War.  This  blot  that  they  object  against  your  house 
Shall  be  wiped  out  in  the  next  parliament 
Call'd  for  the  truce  of  Winchester  and  Gloucester ; 
And  if  thou  be  not  then  created  York, 
I  will  not  live  to  be  accounted  Warwick.  120 

Meantime,  in  signal  of  my  love  to  thee, 
Against  proud  Somerset  and  William  Pole, 
Will  I  upon  thy  party  wear  this  rose : 
And  here  I  prophesy :  this  brawl  to-day, 
Grown  to  this  faction  in  the  Temple-garden, 
Shall  send  between  the  red  rose  and  the  white 
A  thousand  souls  to  death  and  deadly  night. 

Plan.  Good  Master  Vernon,  I  am  bound  to  you. 
That  you  on  my  behalf  would  pluck  a  flower. 

55 


Act  II.  Sc.  V.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Ver.  In  your  behalf  still  will  I  wear  the  same.  130 

Lazi'.  And  so  will  I. 

Plan.  Thanks,  gentle  sir. 

Come,  let  us  four  to  dinner :   I  dare  say 

This  quarrel  will  drink  blood  another  day.      [Exeunt. 

Scene  V. 

The  Tozver  of  London. 
Enter  Mortimer,  brought  in  a  chair,  and  Gaolers. 

Mor.  Kind  keepers  of  my  weak  decaying  age, 

Let  dying  ^lortimer  here  rest  himself. 

Even  like  a  man  new  haled  from  the  rack, 

So  fare  my  limbs  with  long  imprisonment ; 

And  these  grey  locks,  the  pursuivants  of  death, 

Nestor-like  aged  in  an  age  of  care, 

Argue  the  end  of  Edmund  Mortimer. 

These  eyes,  like  lamps  whose  wasting  oil  is  spent. 

Wax  dim,  as  drawing  to  their  exigent ; 

Weak  shoulders,  overborne  with  burthening  grief, 

And  pithless  arms,  like  to  a  wither'd  vine  1 1 

That  droops  his  sapless  branches  to  the  ground : 

Yet  are  these  feet,  whose  strengthless  stay  is  numb. 

Unable  to  support  this  lump  of  clay. 

Swift-winged  with  desire  to  get  a  grave, 

As  witting  I  no  other  comfort  have. 

But  tell  me,  keeper,  will  my  nephew  come  ? 
Eirst  Gaol.  Richard  Plantagenet,  my  lord,  will  come : 

We  sent  unto  the  Temple,  unto  his  chamber ; 

And  answer  was  return'd  that  he  will  com.e.  20 

Mor.  Enough  :   my  soul  shall  then  be  satisfied. 

Poor  gentleman  !   his  wrong  doth  equal  mine. 

56 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  v. 

Since  Henry  Monmouth  first  began  to  rcio^n, 

Before  whose  glory  I  was  great  in  arms, 

This  loathsome  sequestration  have  I  had ; 

And  even  since  then  hath  Richard  been  obscured, 

Deprived  of  honour  and  inheritance. 

But  now  the  arbitrator  of  despairs, 

Just  death,  kind  umpire  of  men's  miseries, 

With  sweet  enlargement  doth  dismiss  me  hence :      30 

I  would  his  troubles  likewise  were  expired. 

That  so  he  might  recover  what  was  lost. 

Enter  Richard  Plantagenet. 

First  Gaol.  My  lord,  your  loving  nephew  now  is  come. 

Mor.  Richard  Plantagenet,  my  friend,  is  he  come  ? 

Plan.  Ay,  noble  uncle,  thus  ignobly  used, 

Your  nephew,  late  despised  Richard,  comes. 

Mor.  Direct  mine  arms  I  may  embrace  his  neck, 
And  in  his  bosom  spend  my  latter  gasp  : 
O,  tell  me  when  my  lips  do  touch  his  cheeks. 
That  I  may  kindly  give  one  fainting  kiss.  40 

And  now  declare,  sweet  stem  from  York's  great  stock, 
Why  didst  thou  say  of  late  thou  wert  despised  ? 

Plan.  First,  lean  thine  aged  back  against  mine  arm ; 
And,  in  that  ease,  I  '11  tell  thee  my  disease. 
This  day,  in  argument  upon  a  case. 
Some  words  there  grew  'twixt  Somerset  and  me ; 
Among  which  terms  he  used  his  lavish  tongue 
And  did  upbraid  me  with  my  father's  death : 
Which  obloquy  set  bars  before  my  tongue. 
Else  with  the  like  I  had  requited  him.  50 

Therefore,  good  uncle,  for  my  father's  sake, 
In  honour  of  a  true  Plantagenet 

57 


Act  II.  Sc.  V.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

And  for  alliance  sake,  declare  the  cause 

My  father,  Earl  of  Cambridge,  lost  his  head. 

Mor.  That  cause,  fair  nephew,  that  imprison'd  me 
And  hath  detain'd  me  all  my  flowering  youth 
Within  a  loathsome  dungeon,  there  to  pine, 
Was  cursed  instrument  of  his  decease. 

Plan.  Discover  more  at  large  what  cause  that  was. 

For  I  am  ignorant  and  cannot  guess.  60 

Mor.  I  will,  if  that  my  fading  breath  permit, 

And  death  approach  not  ere  my  tale  be  done. 

Henry  the  Fourth,  grandfather  to  this  king, 

Deposed  his  nephew  Richard,  Edward's  son, 

The  first-begotten  and  the  lawful  heir 

Of  Edward  king,  the  third  of  that  descent : 

During  whose  reign  the  Percies  of  the  north. 

Finding  his  usurpation  most  unjust, 

Endeavour'd  my  advancement  to  the  throne : 

The  reason  moved  these  warlike  lords  to  this  70 

Was,  for  that — young  King  Richard  thus  removed, 

Leaving  no  heir  begotten  of  his  body — 

I  was  the  next  by  birth  and  parentage; 

For  by  my  mother  I  derived  am 

From  Lionel  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  third  son 

To  King  Edward  the  Third ;   whereas  he 

From  John  of  Gaunt  doth  bring  his  pedigree, 

Being  but  fourth  of  that  heroic  line. 

Cut  mark  :  as  in  this  haughty  great  attempt 

They  laboured  to  plant  the  rightful  heir,  80 

I  lost  my  liberty  and  they  their  lives.  • 

Long  after  this,  when  Henry  the  Fifth, 

Succeeding  his  father  Bolingbroke,  did  reign. 

Thy  father.  Earl  of  Cambridge,  then  derived 

S8 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  II.  Sc.  v. 

From  famous  Edmund  Langley,  Duke  of  York, 

Marrying  my  sister  that  thy  mother  was, 

Again  in  pity  of  my  hard  distress 

Levied  an  army,  weening  to  redeem 

And  have  install'd  me  in  the  diadem : 

But,  as  the  rest,  so  fell  that  noble  earl  90 

And  was  beheaded.    Thus  the  Mortimers, 

In  whom  the  title  rested,  were  suppress' d. 

Plan.  Of  which,  my  lord,  your  honour  is  the  last. 

Mor.  True ;  and  thou  seest  that  I  no  issue  have. 
And  that  my  fainting  words  do  warrant  death : 
Thou  art  my  heir  ;  the  rest  I  wish  thee  gather  : 
But  yet  be  wary  in  thy  studious  care. 

Plati.  Thy  grave  admonishments  prevail  with  me : 
But  yet,  methinks,  my  father's  execution 
Was  nothing  less  than  bloody  tyranny.  100 

Mor.  With  silence,  nephew,  be  thou  politic : 
Strong-fixed  is  the  house  of  Lancaster, 
And  like  a  mountain  not  to  be  removed. 
But  now  thy  uncle  is  removing  hence ; 
As  princes  do  their  courts,  when  they  are  cloy'd 
With  long  continuance  in  a  settled  place. 

Plan.  O,  uncle,  would  some  part  of  my  young  years 
Might  but  redeem  the  passage  of  your  age ! 

Mor.  Thou  dost  then  wrong  me,  as  that  slaughterer  doth 
Which  giveth  many  wounds  when  one  will  kill.       no 
Mourn  not,  except  thou  sorrow  for  my  good ; 
Only  give  order  for  my  funeral : 
And  so  farewell,  and  fair  be  all  thy  hopes, 
And  prosperous  be  thy  life  in  peace  and  war !      [Dies. 

Plan.  And  peace,  no  war,  befall  thy  parting  soul ! 
In  prison  hast  thou  spent  a  pilgrimage, 

59 


Act  III.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

And  like  a  hermit  overpass'd  thy  days. 

Well,  I  will  lock  his  counsel  in  my  breast ; 

And  what  I  do  imagine  let  that  rest. 

Keepers,  convey  him  hence,  and  I  myself  120 

Will  see  his  burial  better  than  his  life. 

[Exeunt  Gaolers,  bearing  out  the  body  of  Mortimer. 
Here  dies  the  dusky  torch  of  Mortimer, 
Choked  with  ambition  of  the  meaner  sort : 
And  for  those  wrongs,  those  bitter  injuries, 
Which  Somerset  hath  offer'd  to  my  house, 
I  doubt  not  but  with  honour  to  redress ; 
And  therefore  haste  I  to  the  parliament, 
Either  to  be  restored  to  my  blood. 
Or  make  my  ill  the  advantage  of  my  good.  [Exit. 

ACT  THIRD. 
Scene  I. 

London.     The  Parliament-house. 

Flourish.  Enter  King,  Exeter,  Gloucester,  Warzvick 
Somerset,  and  Suffolk;  the  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
Richard  Plantagenet,  and  others.  Gloucester  offers 
to  put  up  a  bill;    Winchester  snatches  it,  tears  it. 

Win.  Comest  thou  with  deep  premeditated  lines, 
With  written  pamphlets  studiously  devised, 
Humphrey  of  Gloucester?    If  thou  canst  accuse, 
Or  aught  intend'st  to  lay  unto  my  charge. 
Do  it  without  invention,  suddenly ; 
As  I  with  sudden  and  extemporal  speech 
Purpose  to  answer  what  thou  canst  object. 

60  --— 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  III.  Sc.  i. 

Glou.  Presumptuous    priest!     this    place    commands    my 
patience, 
Or  thou  shouldst  find  thou  hast  dishonour'd  me. 
Think  not,  although  in  writing  I  preferr'd  lo 

The  manner  of  thy  vile  outrageous  crimes. 
That  therefore  I  have  forged,  or  am  not  able 
Verbatim  to  rehearse  the  method  of  my  pen : 
No,  prelate  ;  such  is  thy  audacious  wickedness, 
Thy  lewd,  pestiferous  and  dissentious  pranks. 
As  very  infants  prattle  of  thy  pride. 
Thou  art  a  most  pernicious  usurer, 
Froward  by  nature,  enemy  to  peace  ; 
Lascivious,  wanton,  more  than  well  beseems 
A  man  of  thy  profession  and  degree ;  20 

And  for  thy  treachery,  what 's  more  manifest  ? 
In  that  thou  laid'st  a  trap  to  take  my  life, 
As  well  at  London-bridge  as  at  the  Tower. 
Beside,  I  fear  me,  if  thy  thoughts  were  sifted. 
The  king,  thy  sovereign,  is  not  quite  exempt 
From  envious  malice  of  thy  swelling  heart. 

Win.  Gloucester,  I  do  defy  thee.    Lords,  vouchsafe 
To  give  me  hearing  what  I  shall  reply. 
If  I  were  covetous,  ambitious  or  perverse, 
As  he  will  have  me,  how  am  I  ss  poor  ?  30 

Or  how  haps  it  I  seek  not  to  advance 
Or  raise  myself,  but  keep  my  wonted  calling? 
And  for  dissension,  who  preferreth  peace 
More  than  I  do  ? — except  I  be  provoked. 
No,  my  good  lords,  it  is  not  that  ofifends ; 
It  is  not  that  that  hath  incensed  the  duke: 
It  is,  because  no  one  should  sway  but  he ; 
No  one  but  he  should  be  about  the  king ; 
61 


Act  III.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

And  that  engenders  thunder  in  his  breast, 

And  makes  him  roar  these  accusations  forth.  40 

But  he  shall  know  I  am  as  good — 
GIou.  As  good! 

Thou  bastard  of  my  grandfather ! 
Jl'i]i.  Ay,  lordly  sir;   for  what  are  you,  I  pray, 

But  one  imperious  in  another's  throne? 
Clou.  Am  I  not  protector,  saucy  priest  ? 
Win.  And  am  not  I  a  prelate  of  the  church  ? 
Gloti.  Yes,  as  an  outlaw  in  a  castle  keeps 

And  useth  it  to  patronage  his  theft. 
Win.  Unreverent  Gloster ! 
GIou.  Thou  art  reverent 

Touching  thy  spiritual  function,  not  thy  life.  50 

Win.  Rome  shall  remedy  this. 
War.  Roam  thither,  then. 

Soin.  My  lord,  it  were  your  duty  to  forbear. 
War.  Ay,  see  the  bishop  be  not  overborne. 
Soni.  Methinks  my  lord  should  be  religious, 

And  know  the  office  that  belongs  to  such. 
War.  Methinks  his  lordship  should  be  humbler ; 

It  fitteth  not  a  prelate  so  to  plead. 
Som.  Yes,  when  his  holy  state  is  touch'd  so  near. 
War.  State  holy  or  unhallow'd,  what  of  that  ? 

Is  not  his  grace  protector  to  the  king  ?  60 

Plan.    [Aside]  Plantagenet,  I  see,  must  hold  his  tongue. 

Lest  it  be  said  '  Speak,  sirrah,  when  you  should ; 

Must  your  bold  verdict  enter  talk  with  lords  ?  ' 

Else  would  I  have  a  fling  at  Winchester. 
King.  Uncles  of  Gloucester  and  of  Winchester, 

The  special  watchmen  of  our  English  weal, 

I  would  prevail,  if  prayers  might  prevail, 
62 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  III.  Sc.  i. 

To  join  your  hearts  in  love  and  amity. 

O,  what  a  scandal  is  it  to  our  crown, 

That  two  such  noble  peers  as  ye  should  jar !  70 

BeHeve  me,  lords,  my  tender  years  can  tell 

Civil  dissension  is  a  viperous  worm 

That  gnaws  the  bowels  of  the  commonwealth. 

[A  noise  linthin,  '  Doz<.'n  zvith  the  tazvny-coats ! ' 
What  tumult 's  this  ? 
War.  An  uproar,  I  dare  warrant. 

Begun  through  malice  of  the  bishop's  men. 

[A  noise  again,  '  Stones!  stones! ' 

Enter  Mayor. 

May.  O,  my  good  lords,  and  virtuous  Henry, 
Pity  the  city  of  London,  pity  us  ! 
The  bishop  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester's  men, 
Forbidden  late  to  carry  any  weapon, 
Have  fill'd  their  pockets  full  of  pebble  stones,  80 

And  banding  themselves  in  contrary  parts 
Do  pelt  so  fast  at  one  another's  pate 
That  many  have  their  giddy  brains  knock'd  out : 
Our  windows  are  broke  down  in  every  street. 
And  we  for  fear  compell'd  to  shut  our  shops. 

Enter  Serving-men,  in  skirmish,  zvith  bloody  pates. 

King.  We  charge  you,  on  allegiance  to  ourself, 

To  hold  your  slaughtering  hands  and  keep  the  peace. 
Pray,  uncle  Gloucester,  mitigate  this  strife. 

First  Serz'.  Nay,  if  we  be  forbidden  stones,  we  '11  fall 

to  it  with  our  teeth.  90 

Sec.  Serv.  Do  what  ye  dare,  we  are  as  resolute. 

[Skirmish  again. 

63 


Act  III.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

GloiL  You  of  my  household,  leave  this  peevish  broU 

And  set  this  unaccustom'd  fight  aside. 
Third  Sen'.  ]\Iy  lord,  we  know  your  grace  to  be  a  man 

Just  and  upright ;  and,  for  your  royal  birth, 

Inferior  to  none  but  to  his  majesty: 

And  ere  that  we  will  suffer  such  a  prince, 

So  kind  a  father  of  the  commonweal, 

To  be  disgraced  by  an  inkhorn  mate, 

We  and  our  wives  and  children  all  will  fight,        lOO 

And  have  our  bodies  slaughter'd  by  thy  foes. 
First  Serv.  Ay,  and  the  very  parings  of  our  nails 

Shall  pitch  a  field  when  we  are  dead.      [Begin  again. 
Gloii.  Stay,  stay,  I  say ! 

And  if  you  love  me,  as  you  say  you  do, 

Let  me  persuade  you  to  forbear  awhile. 
King.  O,  how  this  discord  doth  afflict  my  soul ! 

Can  you,  my  Lord  of  Winchester,  behold 

My  sighs  and  tears  and  will  not  once  relent? 

Who  should  be  pitiful,  if  you  be  not  ? 

Or  who  should  study  to  prefer  a  peace,  no 

If  holy  churchmen  take  delight  in  broils? 
IVar.  Yield,  my  lord  protector ;   yield,  Winchester ; 

Except  you  mean  with  obstinate  repulse 
,   To  slay  your  sovereign  and  destroy  the  realm. 

You  see  what  mischief  and  what  murder  too 

Hath  been  enacted  through  your  enmity; 

Then  be  at  peace,  except  ye  thirst  for  blood. 
Win.  He  shall  submit,  or  I  will  never  yield. 
Glou.  Compassion  on  the  king  commands  me  stoop ; 

Or  I  would  see  his  heart  out,  ere  the  priest  120 

Should  ever  get  that  privilege  of  me. 
War.  Behold,  my  Lord  of  Winchester,  the  duke 

64 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  III.  Sc.  i. 

Hath  banish' d  moody  discontented  fury, 

As  by  his  smoothed  brows  it  doth  appear : 

Why  look  you  still  so  stern  and  tragical  ? 
Glou.  Here,  Winchester,  I  offer  thee  my  hand. 
King.  Fie,  uncle  Beaufort !   I  have  heard  you  preach 

That  malice  was  a  great  and  grievous  sin-; 

And  will  n®t  you  maintain  the  thing  you  teach. 

But  prove  a  chief  offender  in  the  same  ?  130 

War.  Sweet  king !  the  bishop  hath  a  kindly  gird. 

For  shame,  my  Lord  of  Winchester,  relent ! 

What,  shall  a  child  instruct  you  what  to  do? 
Win.  Well,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  I  will  yield  to  thee ; 

Love  for  thy  love  and  hand  for  hand  I  give. 
Glou.    [Aside]   Ay,  but,  I  fear  me,  with  a  hollow  heart. — 

See  here,  my  friends  and  loving  countrymen  ; 

This  token  serveth  for  a  flag  of  truce 

Betwixt  ourselves  and  all  our  followers : 

So  help  me  God,  as  I  dissemble  not !  140 

Win.    [Aside]  So  help  me  God,  as  I  intend  it  not ! 
King.  O  loving  uncle,  kind  Duke  of  Gloucester, 

How  joyful  am  I  made  by  this  contract ! 

Away,  my  masters  !   trouble  us  no  more  ; 

But  join  in  friendship,  as  your  lords  have  done. 
First  Serv.  Content :    I  '11  to  the  surgeon's. 
Sec.  Sen:  And  so  will  I. 

Third  Scrv.  And  I  will  see  what  physic  the  tavern 

affords.  [Exeunt  Serving-men,  Mayor,  etc. 

War.  Accept  this  scroll,  most  gracious  sovereign, 

W^hich  in  the  right  of  Richard  Plantagenet  150 

We  do  exhibit  to  your  majesty. 
Glou.  Well  urged,  my  Lord  of  Warwick  :  for,  sweet  prince, 

An  if  your  grace  mark  every  circumstance, 

65 


Act  III.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

You  have  great  reason  to  do  Richard  right ; 

Especially  for  those  occasions 

At  Eltham  place  I  told  your  majesty. 
King.  And  those  occasions,  uncle,  were  of  force : 

Therefore,  my  loving  lords,  our  pleasure  is 

That  Richard  be  restored  to  his  blood. 
War.  Let  Richard  be  restored  to  his  blood ;  i6o 

So  shall  his  father's  wrongs  be  recompensed. 
Win.  As  will  the  rest,  so  willeth  Winchester. 
King.  If  Richard  will  be  true,  not  that  alone 

But  all  the  whole  inheritance  I  give 

That  doth  belong  unto  the  house  of  York, 

From  whence  you  spring  by  lineal  descent. 
Plan.  Thy  humble  servant  vows  obedience 

And  humble  service  till  the  point  of  death. 
King.  Stoop  then  and  set  your  knee  against  my  foot ; 

And,  in  reguerdon  of  that  duty  done,  170 

I  gird  thee  with  the  valiant  sword  of  York : 

Rise,  Richard,  like  a  true  Plantagenet, 

And  rise  created  princely  Duke  of  York. 
Plan,  And  so  thrive  Richard  as  thy  foes  may  fall 

And  as  my  duty  springs,  so  perish  they 

That  grudge  one  thought  against  your  majesty  ! 
All.  Welcome,  high  prince,  the  mighty  Duke  of  York ! 
Som.    [Aside]  Perish,  base  prince,  ignoble  Duke  of  York! 
Gloii.  Now  will  it  best  avail  your  majesty 

To  cross  the  seas  and  to  be  crown'd  in  France :      180 

The  presence  of  a  king  engenders  love 

Amongst  his  subjects  and  his  loyal  friends. 

As  it  disanimates  his  enemies. 
King.  When  Gloucester  says  the  word,  King  Henry  goes ; 

For  friendly  counsel  cuts  off  many  foes. 

66 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  III.  Sc.  ii. 

Glou.  Your  ships  already  are  in  readiness. 

[Sennet.    Flourish.    Exeunt  all  but  Exeter. 

Exe.  Ay,  we  may  marcii  in  England  or  in  France, 
Not  seeing  what  is  likely  to  ensue. 
This  late  dissension  grown  betwixt  the  peers 
Bums  under  feigned  ashes  of  forged  love,  190 

And  will  at  last  break  out  into  a  flame : 
As  fester'd  members  rot  but  by  degree,  * 

Till  bones  and  flesh  and  sinews  fall  away, 
So  will  this  base  and  envious  discord  breed. 
And  now  I  fear  that  fatal  prophecy 
Which  in  the  time  of  Henry  named  the  fifth 
Was  in  the  mouth  of  every  sucking'  babe ; 
That  Henry  born  at  Monmouth  should  win  all 
And  Henry  born  at  Windsor  lose  all : 
Which  is  so  plain,  that  Exeter  doth  wish  200 

His  days  may  finish  ere  that  hapless  time.  [Exit. 

Scene  II. 

France.    Before  Rouen. 

Enter  La  Pxicelle  disguised,  i^ith  four  Soldiers  ivith  sacks 
upon  tJicir  backs. 

Puc.  These  are  the  city  gates,  the  gates  of  Rouen, 
Through  which  our  policy  must  make  a  breach : 
Take  heed,  be  wary  how  you  place  your  words ; 
Talk  like  the  vulgar  sort  of  market  men 
That  come  to  gather  money  for  their  corn. 
If  we  have  entrance,  as  I  hope  we  shall, 
And  that  we  find  the  slothful  watch  but  weak, 
I  '11  by  a  sign  give  notice  to  our  friends. 
That  Charles  the  Dauphin  may  encounter  them. 

6; 


Act  III.  Sc.  ii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

First  Sol.  Our  sacks  shall  be  a  mean  to  sack  the  city,     lo 
And  we  be  lords  and  rulers  over  Rouen ; 
Therefore  we  '11  knock.  [Knocks. 

Watch.    [IVithin]  Qui  est  la? 

P^ic.  Paysans,  pauvres  gens  de  France; 

Poor  market  folks  that  come  to  sell  their  corn. 

Watch.  Enter,  go  in ;   the  market  bell  is  rung. 

Piic.  Mow,  Rouen,  I  '11  shake  thy  bulwarks  to  the  ground. 

{Exeunt. 

Enter  Charles,  the  Bastard  of  Orleans,  Alengon,  Reignier, 
and  forces. 

Char.  Saint  Denis  bless  this  happy  stratagem ! 

And  once  again  we  '11  sleep  secure  in  Rouen. 
Bast.  Here  enter'd  Pucelle  and  her  practisants  ;  20 

Now  she  is  there,  how  will  she  specify 
^4\^here  is  the  best  and  safest  passage  in  ? 
Reig.  By  thrusting  out  a  torch  from  yonder  tower ; 

Which,  once  discern'd,  shows  that  her  meaning  is 

No  way  to  that,  for  weakness,  which  she  enter'd. 

Enter  La  Pucelle  on  the  top,  thrusting  out  a  torch  burning, 

Puc.  Behold,  this  is  the  happy  wedding  torch 
That  joineth  Rouen  unto  her  countrymen, 
But  burning  fatal  to  the  Talbotites !  [Exit. 

Bast.   See,  noble  Charles,  the  beacon  of  our  friend ; 

The  burning  torch  in  yonder  turret  stands.  30 

Char.  Now  shine  it  like  a  cemet  of  revenge, 
A  prophet  to  the  fall  of  all  our  foes ! 

Reig.  Defer  no  time,  delays  have  dangerous  ends : 
Enter,  and  cry  '  The  Dauphin !  '  presently, 
And  then  do  execution  on  the  watch. 

[Alarum.    Exeunt. 

68 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  III.  Sc.  ii. 

An  alarum.    Enter  Talbot  in  an  excursion. 

Tal.  France,  thou  shalt  rue  this  treason  with  thy  tears, 
If  Talbot  but  survive  thy  treachery. 
Pucelle,  that  witch,  that  damned  sorceress. 
Hath  wrought  this  heUish  mischief  unawares, 
That  hardly  we  escaped  the  pride  of  France.  40 

[Exit. 

An  alarum:  excursions.  Bedford,  brought  in  sick  in  a 
chair.  Enter  Talbot  and  Burgundy  zvithoiit:  zcithin 
La  Pucelle,  Charles,  Bastard,  Alengon,  and  Reignier 
on  the  zvalls. 

Piic.  Good  morrow,  gallants !   want  ye  corn  for  bread  ? 
I  think  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  will  fast 
Before  he  '11  buy  again  at  such  a  rate : 
'Twas  full  of  darnel ;  do  you  like  the  taste  ? 

Bur.  Scoff  on,  vile  fiend  and  shameless  courtezan! 
I  trust  ere  long  to  choke  thee  with  thine  own, 
And  make  thee  curse  the  harvest  of  that  corn. 

Char.  Your  grace  may  starve  perhaps  before  that  time. 

Bed.  O,  let  no  words,  but  deeds,  revenge  this  treason ! 

Puc.  What  will  you  do,  good  grey-beard?  break  a  lance. 
And  run  a  tilt  with  death  within  a  chair?  51 

Tal.  Foul  fiend  of  France,  and  hag  of  all  despite, 
Encompass'd  with  thy  lustful  paramours ! 
Becomes  it  thee  to  taunt  his  valiant  age, 
And  twit  with  cowardice  a  man  half  dead  ? 
Damsel,  I  '11  have  a  bout  with  you  again, 
Or  else  let  Talbot  perish  with  this  shame. 

Puc.  Are  ye  so  hot,  sir?  yet,  Pucelle,  hold  thy  peace; 
If  Talbot  do  but  thunder,  rain  will  follow. 

[The  English  zvhisper  together  in  cauncil. 
69 


Act  III.  Sc.  li.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

God  speed  the  parliament !   who  shall  be  the  speaker? 
Tal.  Dare  ye  come  forth  and  meet  us  in  the  field  ?  6l 

Piic.  Belike  your  lordship  takes  us  then  for  fools, 

To  try  if  that  our  own  be  ours  or  no. 
Tal.  I  speak  not  to  that  railing  Hecate, 

But  unto  thee,  Alencon,  and  the  rest ; 

Will  ye,  like  soldiers,  come  and  fight  it  out? 
Alen.  Signior,  no. 
Tal.  Signior,  hang !  base  muleters  of  France ! 

Like  peasant  foot-boys  do  they  keep  the  walls. 

And  dare  not  take  up  arms  like  gentlemen.  70 

Piic.  Away,  captains  !  let 's  get  us  from  the  walls ; 

For  Talbot  means  no  goodness  by  his  looks. 

God  be  wi'  you,  my  lord !   we  came  but  to  tell  you 

That  we  are  here.  [Exeunt  from  the  walls. 

Tal.  And  there  will  we  be  too,  ere  it  be  long, 

Or  else  reproach  be  Talbot's  greatest  fame ! 

Vow,  Burgundy,  by  honour  of  thy  house, 

Prick'd  on  by  public  wrongs  sustain'd  in  France, 

Either  to  get  the  town  again  or  die : 

And  I,  as  sure  as  English  Henry  lives,  80 

And  as  his  father  here  was  conqueror. 

As  sure  as  in  this  late-betrayed  town 

Great  Coeur-de-lion's  heart  was  buried, 

So  sure  I  swear  to  get  the  town  or  die. 
Bur.  My  vows  are  equal  partners  with  thy  vows. 
Tal.  But,  ere  we  go,  regard  this  dying  prince. 

The  valiant  Duke  of  Bedford.    Come,  my  lord, 

We  will  bestow  you  in  some  better  place, 

Fitter  for  sickness  and  for  crazy  age. 
Bed.  Lord  Talbot,  do  not  so  dishonour  me :  90 

Here  will  I  sit  before  the  walls  of  Rouen 
70 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  III.  Sc.  ii. 

And  will  be  partner  of  your  weal  or  woe. 

Bur.  Courageous  Bedford,  let  us  now  persuade  you. 

Bed.  Not  to  begone  from  hence ;   for  once  I  read 
That  stout  Pen  dragon  in  his  litter  sick 
Came  to  the  field  and  vanquished  his  foes  : 
Methinks  I  should  revive  the  soldiers'  hearts, 
Because  I  ever  found  them  as  myself. 

Tal.  Undaunted  spirit  in  a  dying  breast ! 

Then  be  it  so  :  heavens  keep  old  Bedford  safe !      loo 
And  now  no  more  ado,  brave  Burgundy, 
But  gather  we  our  forces  out  of  hand 
And  set  upon  our  boasting  enemy. 

[Exeunt  all  but  Bedford  and  Attendants. 

An  alarum:   excursions.     Enter  Sir  John  FastolfS  and 

a  Captain. 
♦ 
Cap.  Whither  away,  Sir  John  Fastolfe,  in  such  haste  ? 

Fast.  Whither  away  !  to  save  myself  by  flight : 
We  are  like  to  have  the  overthrow  again. 

Cap.  What !   will  you  fly,  and  leave  Lord  Talbot  ? 

Fast.  Ay, 

All  the  Talbots  in  the  world,  to  save  my  life.      [Exit. 

Cap.  Cowardly  knight !   ill  fortune  follow  thee  !        [Exit. 

Retreat:  excursions.    La  Pucelle,  Alengon,  and 
*  Charles  fly. 

Bed.  Now,  quiet  soul,  depart  when  heaven  please,  no 

For  I  have  seen  our  enemies'  overthrow. 
What  is  the  trust  or  strength  of  foolish  man  ? 
They  that  of  late  were  daring  with  their  scoflfs 
Are  glad  and  fain  by  flight  to  save  themselves. 
[Bedford  dies,  and  is  carried  in  by  tzvo  in  his  chair. 

71 


Act  III.  Sc.  ii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

An  alarum.    Re-enter  Talho.t,  Burgundy,  and  the  rest. 

Tal.  Lost,  and  recover'd  in  a  day  again ! 

This  is  a  double  honour,  Burgundy : 

Yet  heavens  have  glory  for  this  victory ! 
Bur.  Warlike  and  martial  Talbot,  Burgundy 

Enshrines  thee  in  his  heart,  and  there  erects 

Thy  noble  deeds  as  valour's  monuments.  120 

Tal.  Thanks,  gentle  duke.    But  where  is  Pucelle  now  ? 

I  think  her  old  familiar  is  asleep : 

Now  where  's  the  Bastard's  braves,  and  Charles  his 
gleeks  ? 

What,  all  amort  ?    Rouen  hangs  her  head  for  grief 

That  such  a  valiant  company  are  fled. 

Now  will  we  take  some  order  in  the  town, 

Placing  therein  some  expert  officers. 

And  then  depart  to  Paris  to  the  king, 

For  there  young  Henry  with  his  nobles  lie. 
Bur.  What  wills  Lord  Talbot  pleaseth  Burgundy.  130 

Tal.  But  yet,  before  we  go,  let 's  not  forget 

The  noble  Duke  of  Bedford  late  deceased, 

But  see  his  exequies  fulfiU'd  in  Rouen : 

A  braver  soldier  never  couched  lance, 

A  gentler  heart  did  never  sway  in  court; 

But  kings  and  mightiest  potentates  must  die, 

For  that 's  the  end  of  human  misery.  [Exeunt. 


72 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  III.  Sc.  iii. 

Scene  III. 

The  plains  near  Rouen. 

Enter  Charles,  the  Bastard  of  Orleans,  Alengon, 
La  Pucelle,  and  forces. 

Piic.  Dismay  not,  princes,  at  this  accident, 

Nor  grieve  that  Rouen  is  so  recovered : 

Care  is  no  cure,  but  rather  corrosive, 

For  things  that  are  not  to  be  remedied. 

Let  frantic  Talbot  triumph  for  a  while 

And  like  a  peacock  sweep  along  his  tail ; 

We  '11  pull  his  plumes  and  take  away  his  train, 

If  Dauphin  and  the  rest  will  be  but  ruled. 
Char.  We  have  been  guided  by  thee  hitherto, 

And  of  thy  cunning  had  no  diffidence :  lo 

One  sudden  foil  shall  never  breed  distrust. 
Bast.  Search  out  thy  wit  for  secret  policies, 

And  we  will  make  thee  famous  through  the  world. 
Alen.  We  '11  set  thy  statue  in  some  holy  place,  ^ 

And  have  thee  reverenced  like  a  blessed  saint : 

Employ  thee  then,  sweet  virgin,  for  our  good. 
Puc.  Then  thus  it  must  be  ;  this  doth  Joan  devise  : 

By  fair  persuasions  mix'd  with  sugar'd  words 

We  will  entice  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 

To  leave  the  Talbot  and  to  follow  us.  20 

Char.  Ay,  marry,  sweeting,  if  we  could  do  that, 

France  were  no  place  for  Henry's  warriors ; 

Nor  should  that  nation  boast  it  so  with  us, 

But  be  extirped  from  our  provinces. 
Alen.  For  ever  should  they  be  expulsed  from  France, 

And  not  have  title  of  an  earldom  here. 
Piic.  Your  honours  shall  perceive  how  I  will  work 

73 


Act  III.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

To  bring  this  matter  to  the  wished  end. 

[Dntin  sounds  afar  off. 
Hark !  by  the  sound  of  drum  you  may  perceive 
Their  powers  are  marching  unto  Paris-ward.  30 

Here  sound  an  English  march.    Enter,  and  pass  orer 
at  a  distance,  Talbot  and  his  forces. 

There  goes  the  Talbot,  with  his  colours  spread, 
And  all  the  troops  of  English  after  him. 

French  inarch.    Enter  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  forces. 

Now  in  the  rearward  comes  the  duke  and  his: 

Fortune  in  favour  makes  him  lag  behind. 

Summon  a  parley ;   we  will  talk  with  him. 

[Trumpets  sound  a  parley. 
Char.  A  parley  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy ! 
Bur.  Who  craves  a  parley  with  the  Burgundy  ? 
Puc.  The  princely  Charles  of  France,  thy  countryman. 
Bur.  What  say'st  thou,  Charles?  for  I  am  marching  hence. 
Char.   Speak,  Pucelle,  and  enchant  him  with  thy  words.  40 
Puc.  Brave  Burgundy,  undoubted  hope  of  France ! 

Stay,  let  thy  humble  handmaid  speak  to  thee. 
Bur.   Speak  on  ;  but  be  not  over-tedious. 
Puc.  Look  on  thy  country,  look  on  fertile  France, 

And  see  the  cities  and  the  towns  defaced 

By  wasting  ruin  of  the  cruel  foe. 

As  looks  the  mother  on  her  lowly  babe 

When  death  doth  close  his  tender  dying  eyes, 

See,  see  the  pining  malady  of  France ; 

Behold  the  wounds,  the  most  unnatural  wounds,       50 

Which  thou  thyself  hast  given  her  woful  breast. 

O,  turn  thy  edged  sword  another  way ; 

74 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  111.  Sc.  iii. 

Strike  those  that  hurt,  and  hurt  not  those  that  help. 
One  drop  of  blood  drawn  from  thy  country's  bosom 
Should  grieve  thee  more  than  streams  of  foreign  gore  : 
Return  thee  therefore  with  a  flood  of  tears, 
And  wash  away  thy  country's  stained  spots. 

Bur.  Either  she  hath  bewitch'd  me  with  her  words, 
Or  nature  makes  me  suddenly  relent. 

Piic.  Besides,  all  French  and  France  exclaims  on  thee,  60 
Doubting  thy  birth  and  lawful  progeny. 
Who  join'st  thou  with  but  with  a  lordly  nation 
That  will  not  trust  thee  but  for  profit's  sake  ? 
When  Talbot  hath  set  footing  once  in  France 
And  fashion'd  thee  that  instrument  of  ill. 
Who  then  but  English  Henry  will  be  lord, 
And  thou  be  thrust  out  like  a  fugitive  ? 
Call  we  to  mind,  and  mark  but  this  for  proof, 
W^as  not  the  Duke  of  Orleans  thy  foe  ? 
And  was  he  not  in  England  prisoner  ?  70 

But  when  they  heard  he  was  thine  enemy. 
They  set  him  free  without  his  ransom  paid. 
In  spite  of  Burgundy  and  all  his  friends. 
See,  then,  thou  fight'st  against  thy  countrymen 
And  join'st  with  them  will  be  thy  slaughter-men. 
Come,  come,  return  ;  return,  thou  wandering  lord ; 
Charles  and  the  rest  will  take  thee  in  their  arms. 

Bur.  I  am  vanquished  ;  these  haughty  words  of  hers 
Flave  batter'd  me  like  roaring  cannon-shot. 
And  made  me  almost  yield  upon  my  knees.  80 

Forgive  me,  country,  and  sweet  countrymen, 
And,  lords,  accept  this  hearty  kind  embrace : 
My  forces  and  my  power  of  men  are  yours : 
So  farewell,  Talbot ;  I  '11  no  longer  trust  thee. 

75 


Act  III.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Puc.    [Aside]   Done  like  a   Frenchman :   turn,   and  turn 

again ! 
Char.  Welcome,  brave  duke  !  thy  friendship  makes  us  fresh. 
Bast.  And  doth  beget  new  courage  in  our  breasts. 
Alen.  Pucelle  hath  bravely  play'd  her  part  in  this, 

And  doth  deserve  a  coronet  of  gold. 
Char.  Now  let  us  on,  my  lords,  and  join  our  powers,     90 

And  seek  how  we  naay  prejudice  the  foe.        [Exeunt. 


Scene  IV. 

Paris.     The  palace. 

Enter  the  King,  Gloucester,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  York, 
Suffolk,  Somerset,  Warunck,  Exeter:  Vernon,  Bas- 
set, and  others.     To  them  zvith  his  Soldiers,  Talbot. 

Tal.  My  gracious  prince,  and  honourable  peers, 
Hearing  of  your  arrival  in  this  realm, 
I  have  awhile  given  truce  unto  my  wars, 
To  do  my  duty  to  my  sovereign : 
In  sign  whereof,  this  arm,  that  hath  reclaim'd 
To  your  obedience  fifty  fortresses, 
Twelve  cities  and  seven  walled  towns  of  strength, 
Beside  five  hundred  prisoners  of  esteem, 
Lets  fall  his  sword  before  your  highness'  feet, 
And  with  submissive  loyalty  of  heart  10 

Ascribes  the  glory  of  his  conquest  got 
First  to  my  God  and  next  unto  your  grace.       [Kneel. 

King.  Is  this  the  Lord  Talbot,  uncle  Gloucester, 
That  hath  so  long  been  resident  in  France  ? 

Clou.  Yes,  if  it  please  your  majesty,  my  liege. 

King.  Welcome,  brave  captain  and  victorious  lord ! 

76 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  III.  Sc.  iv. 

When  I  was  young,  as  yet  I  am  not  old, 

I  do  remember  how  my  father  said 

A  stouter  champion  never  handled  sword. 

Long  since  we  were  resolved  of  your  truth,  20 

Your  faithful  service  and  your  toil  in  war ; 

Yet  never  have  you  tasted  our  reward. 

Or  been  reguerdon'd  with  so  much  as  thanks, 

Because  till  now  we  never  saw  your  face : 

Therefore,  stand  up :   and,  for  these  good  deserts, 

We  here  create  you  Earl  of  Shrewsbury ; 

And  in  our  coronation  take  your  place. 

[Sennet.     Flourish.     Exeunt  all  but  Vernon  and  Basset. 

Ver.  Now,  sir,  to  you,  that  were  so  hot  at  sea, 
Disgracing  of  these  colours  that  I  wear 
In  honour  of  my  noble  Lord  of  York  : —  30 

Barest  thou  maintain  the  former  words  thou  spakest  ? 

Bas.  Yes,  sir ;  as  well  as  you  dare  patronage 
The  envious  barking  of  your  saucy  tongue 
Against  my  lord  the  Duke  of  Somerset. 

Ver.  Sirrah,  thy  lord  I  honour  as  he  is. 

Bas.  Why,  what  is  he  ?  as  good  a  man  as  York. 

Ver.  Hark  ye ;  not  so :  in  witness,  take  ye  that. 

[Strikes  him. 

Bas.  Villain,  thou  know'st  the  law  of  arms  is  such 
That  whoso  draws  a  sword,  'tis  present  death, 
Or  else  this  blow  should  broach  thy  dearest  blood. 
But  I  '11  unto  his  majesty,  and  crave  41 

I  may  have  liberty  to  venge  this  wrong ; 
When  thou  shalt  see  I  '11  meet  thee  to  thy  cost. 

Ver.  Well,  miscreant,  I  '11  be  there  as  soon  as  you ; 
And,  after,  meet  you  sooner  than  you  would. 

[Exeunt. 


77 


Act  IV.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

ACT  FOURTH. 
Scene  I. 

Paris.     A  hall  of  state. 

Enter  the  King,  Gloucester,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  York, 
Suffolk,  Somerset,  Warzvick,  Talbot,  Exeter,  the 
Governor  of  Paris,  and  others. 

Glou.  Lord  Bishop,  set  the  crown  upon  his  head. 

IVin.  God  save  King  Henry,  of  that  name  the  sixth ! 

Glou.  Now,  governor  of  Paris,  take  your  oath, 
That  you  elect  no  other  king  but  him ; 
Esteem  none  friends  but  such  as  are  his  friends, 
And  none  your  foes  but  such  as  shall  pretend 
Malicious  practices  against  his  state : 
This  shall  ye  do,  so  help  you  righteous  God ! 

Enter  Sir  John  Fastolfe. 

Fast.  My  gracious  sovereign,  as  I  rode  from  Calais, 

To  haste  unto  your  coronation,  lo 

A  letter  was  deliver'd  to  my  hands, 

Writ  to  your  grace  from  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 

Tai  Shame  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  thee ! 

I  vow'd,  base  knight,  when  I  did  meet  thee  next, 
To  tear  the  garter  from  thy  craven's  leg, 

[Plucking  it  off. 
Which  I  have  done,  because  unworthily 
Thou  wast  installed  in  that  high  degree. 
Pardon  me.  princely  Henry,  and  the  rest : 
This  dastard,  at  the  battle  of  Patay, 
When  but  in  all  I  was  six  thousand  strong  20 

And  that  the  French  were  almost  ten  to  one, 

78 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  i. 

Before  we  met  or  that  a  stroke  was  given. 
Like  to  a  trusty  squire  did  run  away : 
In  which  assault  w^e  lost  twelve  hundred  men ; 
Myself  and  divers  gentlemen  beside 
Were  there  surprised  and  taken  prisoners. 
Then  judge,  great  lords,  if  I  have  done  amiss ; 
Or  whether  that  such  cowards  ought  to  wear 
This  ornament  of  knighthood,  yea  or  no. 

Clou.  To  say  the  truth,  this  fact  was  infamous  30 

And  ill  beseeming  any  common  man, 
i\Iuch  more  a  knight,  a  captain  and  a  leader. 

Tal.  \Mien  first  this  order  was  ordain'd,  my  lords, 
Knights  of  the  garter  were  of  noble  birth. 
Valiant  and  virtuous,  full  of  haughty  courage, 
Such  as  were  grown  to  credit  by  the  wars ; 
Not  fearing  death,  nor  shrinking  for  distress, 
But  always  resolute  in  most  extremes. 
He  then  that  is  not  furnish'd  in  this  sort 
Doth  but  usurp  the  sacred  name  of  knight,  40 

Profaning  this  most  honourable  order, 
And  should,  if  I  were  worthy  to  be  judge. 
Be  quite  degraded,  like  a  hedge-born  swain 
That  doth  presume  to  boast  of  gentle  blood. 

King.  Stain  to  thy  countrymen,  thou  hear'st  thy  doom ! 
Be  packing,  therefore,  thou  that  wast  a  knight : 
Henceforth  we  banish  thee,  on  pain  of  death. 

[Exit  Fastolfe. 
And  now,  my  lord  protector,  view  the  letter 
Sent  from  our  uncle  Duke  of  Burgundy. 

Glou.  What  means  his  grace,  that  he  hath changedhis  style  ? 
No  more  but,  plain  and  bluntly,  '  To  the  king !  '  51 
Hath  he  forgot  he  is  his  sovereign  ? 

79 


Act  IV.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Or  doth  this  churHsh  superscription 

Pretend  some  alteration  in  good  will? 

What 's  here?   [Reads]   '  I  have,  upon  especial  cause, 

Moved  with  compassion  of  my  country's  wreck. 

Together  with  the  pitiful  complaints 

Of  such  as  your  oppression  feeds  upon,  . 

Forsaken  your  pernicious  faction, 

And  join'd  with  Charles,  the  rightful  King  of  France.' 

0  monstrous  treachery !  can  this  be  so,  6i 
That  in  alliance,  amity  and  oaths, 

There  should  be  found  such  false  dissembling  guile? 
King.  What!   doth  my  uncle  Burgundy  revolt? 
Glou.  He  doth,  my  lord,  and  is  become  your  foe. 
King.  Is  that  the  worst  this  letter  doth  contain  ? 
Gloii.  It  is  the  worst,  and  all,  my  lord,  he  writes. 
King.  Why,  then,  Lord  Talbot  there  shall  talk  with  him, 

And  give.him  chastisement  for  this  abuse. 

How  say  you,  my  lord  ?   are  you  not  content  ?         70 
Tal.  Content,  my  liege !  yes,  but  that  I  am  prevented, 

1  should  have  begg'd  I  might  have  been  employ'd. 
King.  Then  gather  strength,  and  march  unto  him  straight : 

Let  him  perceive  how  ill  we  brook  his  treason, 
And  what  offence  it  is  to  flout  his  friends. 
Tal.  I  go,  my  lord,  in  heart  desiring  still 

You  may  behold  confusion  of  your  foes.  [Exit. 

Enter  Vernon  and  Basset. 

Ver.  Grant  me  the  combat,  gracious  sovereign. 
Bas.  And  me,  my  lord,  grant  me  the  combat  too. 
York.  This  is  my  servant :  hear  him,  noble  prince.         80 
Som.  And  this  is  mine :  sweet  Henry,  favour  him. 
King.  Be  patient,  lords ;   and  give  them  leave  to  speak. 

80 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  i. 

Say,  gentlemen,  what  makes  you  thus  exclaim  ? 
And  wherefore  crave  you  combat?  or  with  whom? 

Ver.  With  him,  my  lord ;   for  he  hath  done  me  wrong. 

Bas.  And  I  with  him ;   for  he  hath  done  me  wrong. 

King.  What  is  that  wrong  whereof  you  both  complain  ? 
First  let  me  know,  and  then  I  '11  answer  you. 

Bas.  Crossing  the  sea  from  England  into  France, 

This  fellow  here,  with  envious  carping  tongue,        90 

Upbraided  me  about  the  rose  I  wear ; 

Saying,  the  sanguine  colour  of  the  leaves 

Did  represent  my  master's  blushing  cheeks, 

When  stubbornly  he  did  repugn  the  truth 

About  a  certain  question  in  the  law 

Argued  betwixt  the  Duke  of  York  and  him ; 

With  other  vile  and  ignominious  terms : 

In  confutation  of  which  rude  reproach, 

And  in  defence  of  my  lord's  worthiness, 

I  crave  the  benefit  of  law  of  arms.  i<X) 

[  Vr.  And  that  is  my  petition,  noble  lord : 

For  though  he  seem  with  forged  quaint  conceit 
To  set  a  gloss  upon  his  bold  intent, 
Yet  know,  my  lord,  I  was  provoked  by  him  ; 
And  he  first  took  exceptions  at  this  badge, 
Pronouncing  that  the  paleness  of  this  flower 
Bewray'd  the  faintness  of  my  master's  heart. 

York.  Will  not  this  malice,  Somerset,  be  left  ? 

Soiu.  Your  private  grudge,  my  Lord  of  York,  wall  out. 
Though  ne'er  so  cunningly  you  smother  it.  no 

King.  Good  Lord,  what  madness  rules  in  brainsick  men, 
When  for  so  slight  and  frivolous  a  cause 
Such  factious  emulations  shall  arise ! 
Good  cousins  both,  of  York  and  Somerset, 
Si 


Act  IV.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Quiet  yourselves,  I  pray,  and  be  at   peace. 
Yo7'k.  Let  this  dissension  first  be  tried  by  fight, 

And  then  your  highness  shaU  command  a  peace. 
Soni.  The  quarrel  toucheth  none  but  us  alone; 

Betwixt  ourselves  let  us  decide  it  then. 
York.  There  is  my  pledge;   accept  it,  Somerset.  120 

Ver.  Nay,  let  it  rest  where  it  began  at  first. 
Bas.  Confirm  it  so,  mine  honourable  lord. 
Gloti.  Confirm  it  so  !     Confounded  be  your  strife ! 

And  perish  ye,  wath  your  audacious  prate! 

Presumptuous  vassals,  are  you  not  ashamed 

With  this  immodest  clamorous  outrage 

To  trouble  and  disturb  the  king  and  us  ? 

And  you,  my  lords,  methinks  you  do  not  well 

To  bear  with  their  perverse  objections ; 

Much  less  to  take  occasion  from  their  mouths        130 

To  raise  a  mutiny  betwixt  yourselves : 

Let  me  persuade  you  take  a  better  course. 
Exe.  It  grieves  his  highness :  good  my  lords,  be  friends. 
King.  Come  hither,  you  that  would  be  combatants : 

Henceforth  I  charge  you,  as  you  love  our  favour, 

Quite  to  forget  this  quarrel  and  the  cause. 

And  you,  my  lords,  remember  where  we  are; 

In  France,  amongst  a  fickle  wavering  nation : 

If  they  perceive  dissension  in  our  looks 

And  that  within  ourselves  we  disagree,  140 

How  will  their  grudging  stomachs  be  provoked 

To  wilful  disobedience,  and  rebel ! 

Beside,  what  infamy  will  there  arise, 

When  foreign  princes  shall  be  certified 

That  for  a  toy,  a  thing  of  no  regard. 

King  Henry's  peers  and  chief  nobility 
82 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  i. 

Destroy'd  themselves,  and  lost  the  realm  of  France ! 

O,  think  upon  the  conquest  of  my  father, 

My  tender  years,  and  let  us  not  forgo 

That  for  a  trifle  that  was  bought  with  blood!  150 

Let  me  be  umpire  in  this  doubtful  strife. 

I  see  no  reason,  if  I  wear  this  rose, 

[Putting  on  a  red  rose. 
That  any  one  should  therefore  be  suspicious 
I  more  incline  to  Somerset  than  York : 
Both  are  my  kinsmen,  and  I  love  them  both: 
As  well  they  may  upbraid  me  with  my  crown, 
Because,  forsooth,  the  king  of  Scots  is  crown'd. 
But  your  discretions  better  can  persuade 
Than  I  am  able  to  instruct  or  teach : 
And  therefore,  as  we  hither  came  in  peace,  160 

So  let  us  still  continue  peace  and  love. 
Cousin  of  York,  we  institute  your  grace 
To  be  our  regent  in  these  parts  of  France : 
And,  good  my  Lord  of  Somerset,  unite 
Your  troops  of  horsemen  with  his  bands  of  foot ; 
And,  like  true  subjects,  sons  of  your  progenitors. 
Go  cheerfully  together  and  digest 
Your  angry  choler  on  your  enemies. 
Ourself,  my  lord  protector  and  the  rest 
After  some  respite  will  return  to  Calais ;  170 

From  thence  to  England ;    where  I  hope  ere  long 
To  be  presented,  by  your  victories, 
With  Charles,  Alengon  and  that  traitorous  rout. 

[Flourish.     Exeunt  all  but  York,  IVarzvick, 
Exeter  and  Vernon. 
War.  My  Lord  of  York,  I  promise  you,  the  king 
Prettily,  methought,  did  play  the  orator. 

83 


Act  IV.  Sc.  ii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

York.  And  so  he  did ;  but  yet  I  like  it  not, 
In  that  he  wears  the  badge  of  Somerset. 

War.  Tush,  that  was  but  his  fancy,  blame  him  not ; 
I  dare  presume,  sweet  prince,  he  thought  no  harm. 

York.  An  if  I  wist  he  did, — but  let  it  rest ;  i8o 

Other  affairs  must  now  be  managed. 

[Exeunt  oil  but  Exeter. 

Exe.  Well  didst  thou,  Richard,  to  suppress  thy  voice; 
For,  had  the  passions  of  thy  heart  burst  out, 
I  fear  we  should  have  seen  decipher'd  there 
More  rancorous  spite,  more  furious  raging  broils, 
Than  yet  can  be  imagined  or  supposed. 
But  howsoe'er,  no  simple  man  that  sees 
This  jarring  discord  of  nobility, 
This  shouldering  of  each  other  in  the  court. 
This  factious  bandying  of  their  favourites,  190 

But  that  it  doth  presage  some  ill  event. 
'Tis  much  when  sceptres  are  in  children's  hands ; 
But  more  when  envy  breeds  unkind  division  ; 
There  comes  the  ruin,  there  begins  confusion. 

[Exit. 

Scene  II. 

Before  Boiirdeaiix. 

Enter  Talbot,  with  trump  and  drum. 

Tal.  Go  to  the  gates  of  Bourdeaux,  trumpeter ; 
Summon  their  general  unto  the  wall. 

Trumpet  sounds.     Enter  General  and  others,  aloft. 

English  John  Talbot,  captains,  calls  you  forth. 
Servant  in  arms  to  Harry  King  of  England ; 

84 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  ii. 

And  thus  he  would :   Open  your  city-gates ; 
Be  humble  to  us ;   call  my  sovereign  yours, 
And  do  him  homage  as  obedient  subjects ; 
And  I  '11  withdraw  me  and  my  bloody  power : 
But,  if  you  frown  upon  this  proffer'd  peace. 
You  tempt  the  fury  of  my  three  attendants,  lo 

Lean  famine,  quartering  steel,  and  climbing  fire ; 
Who  in  a  moment  even  with  the  earth 
Shall  lay  your  stately  and  air-braving  towers. 
If  you  forsake  the  offer  of  their  love. 
Gen,  Thou  ominous  and  fearful  owl  of  death. 
Our  nation's  terror  and  their  bloody  scourge ! 
The  period  of  thy  tyranny  approacheth. 
On  us  thou  canst  not  enter  but  by  death ; 
For,  I  protest,  we  are  well  fortified 
And  strong  enough  to  issue  out  and  fight :  20 

If  thou  retire,  the  Dauphin,  well  appointed. 
Stands  with  the  snares  of  war  to  tangle  thee : 
On  either  hand  thee  there  are  sqwadrons  pitch'd, 
To  wall  thee  from  the  liberty  of  flight ; 
And  no  way  canst  thou  turn  thee  for  redress, 
But  death  doth  front  thee  with  apparent  spoil, 
And  pale  destruction  meets  thee  in  the  face. 
Ten  thousand  French  have  ta'en  the  sacrament 
To  rive  their  dangerous  artillery 
Upon  no  Christian  soul  but  English  Talbot.  30 

Lo,  there  thou  stand'st,  a  breathing  valiant  man, 
Of  an  invincible  unconquer'd  spirit! 
This  is  the  latest  glory  of  thy  praise 
That  I,  thy  enemy,  due  thee  withal ; 
For  ere  the  glass,  that  now  begins  to  run. 
Finish  the  process  of  his  sandy  hour, 

85 


Act  IV.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

These  eyes,  that  see  thee  now  well  coloured, 
Shall  see  thee  wither'd,  bloody,  pale  and  dead. 

[Driwi  afar  off. 
Hark  !   hark  !   the  Dauphin's  drum,  a  warning  bell, 
Sings  heavy  music  to  thy  timorous  soul ;  40 

And  mine  shall  ring  thy  dire  departure  out. 

[Exeunt  General,  etc. 
Tal.  He  fables  not ;   I  hear  the  enemy  : 

Out,  some  light  horsemen,  and  peruse  their  wings. 

O,  negligent  and  heedless  discipline ! 

How  are  we  park'd  and  bounded  in  a  pale, 

A  little  herd  of  England's  timorous  deer, 

Mazed  with  a  yelping  kennel  of  French  curs! 

If  we  be  English  deer,  be  then  in  blood  ; 

Not  rascal-like,  to  fall  down  with  a  pinch, 

But  rather,  moody-mad  and  desperate  stags,  50 

Turn  on  the  bloody  hounds  with  heads  of  steel 

And  make  the  cowards  stand  aloof  at  bay : 

Sell  every  man  his  life  as  dear  as  mine, 

And  they  shall  find  dear  deer  of  us,  my  friends. 

God  and  Saint  George,  Talbot  and  England's  right, 

Prosper  our  colours  in  this  dangerous  fight ! 

[Exeunt. 

Scene  III. 

Plahis  in  Gascony. 

Enter  a  Messenger  that  meets  York.     Enter  York  with 
trumpet  and  many  Soldiers. 

York.  Are  not  the  speedy  scouts  return'd  again. 
That  dogg'd  the  mighty  army  of  the  Dauphin  ? 

Mess.  They  are  return'd,  my  lord,  and  give  it  out 

That  he  is  march'd  to  Bourdeaux  with  his  power, 

86 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  iii. 

To  fight  with  Talbot :   as  he  march'd  along, 
By  your  espials  were  discovered 
Two  mightier  troops  than  that  the  Dauphin  led, 
Which  join'd  with  him  and  made  their  march  for 
Bourdeaux. 
York.  A  plague  upon  that  villain  Somerset, 

That  thus  delays  my  promised  supply  lo 

Of  horsemen,  that  were  levied  for  this  siege ! 

Renowned  Talbot  doth  expect  my  aid, 

And  I  am  lowted  by  a  traitor  villain. 

And  cannot  help  the  noble  chevalier : 

God  comfort  him  in  this  necessity  ! 

If  he  miscarry,  farewell  wars  in  France 

Enter  Sir  William  Lucy. 

Lucy.  Thou  princely  leader  of  our  English  strength 
Never  so  needful  on  the  earth  of  France, 
Spur  to  the  rescue  of  the  noble  Talbot, 
•  Who  now  is  girdled  with  a  waist  of  iron,  20 

And  hemm'd  about  with  grim  destruction : 
To  Bourdeaux,  warlike  duke !    to  Bourdeaux,  York ! 
Else,  Farewell  Talbot,  France,  and  England's  honour. 

York.  O  God,  that  Somerset,  who  in  proud  heart 
Doth  stop  my  cornets,  were  in  Talbot's  place ! 
So  should  we  save  a  valiant  gentleman 
By  forfeiting  a  traitor  and  a  coward. 
Mad  ire  and  wrathful  fury  makes  me  weep, 
That  thus  we  die,  while  remiss  traitors  sleep. 

Lucy.  O,  send  some  succour  to  the  distress'd  lord!         30 

York.  He  dies,  we  lose ;   I  break  my  warlike  word ; 

We  mourn,  France  smiles ;   we  lose,  they  daily  get ; 
All  'long  of  this  vile  traitor  Somerset. 

87 


Act  IV.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Lucy.  Then  God  take  mercy  on  brave  Talbot's  soul ; 
And  on  his  son  young  John,  who  two  hours  since 
I  met  in  travel  towards  his  warhke  father! 
This  seven  years  did  not  Talbot  see  his  son ; 
And  now  they  meet  where  both  their  lives  are  done. 

York.  Alas,  what  joy  shall  noble  Talbot  have 

To  bid  his  young  son  welcome  to  his  grave  ?  40 

Away !   vexation  almost  stops  my  breath, 

That  sunder'd  friends  greet  in  the  hour  of  death. 

Lucy,  farewell :  no  more  my  fortune  can. 

But  curse  the  cause  I  cannot  aid  the  man. 

Maine,  Blois,  Poictiers,  and  Tours,  are  won  away, 

'Long  all  of  Somerset  and  his  delay. 

[Exit,  zvith  his  soldiers. 

Lucy.  Thus,  while  the  vulture  of  sedition 

Feeds  in  the  bosom  of  such  great  commanders, 

Sleeping  neglection  doth  betray  to  loss 

The  conquest  of  our  scarce  cold  conqueror,  50 

That  ever  living  man  of  memory, 

Henry  the  Fifth :   whiles  they  each  other  cross, 

Lives,  honours,  lands  and  all  hurry  to  loss.       [Exit. 

Scene  IV. 

Other  plains  in  Gascony. 

Enter  Somerset,  with  his  army;    a  Captain  of  Talbot's 
zvith  him. 

Som.  It  is  too  late ;   I  cannot  send  them  now : 
This  expedition  was  by  York  and  Talbot 
Too  rashly  plotted :   all  our  general  force 
Might  with  a  sally  of  the  very  town 
Be  buckled  with :  the  over-daring  Talbot 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  iv. 

Hath  sullied  all  his  gloss  of  former  honour 
By  this  unheedful,  desperate,  wild  adveniure: 
York  set  him  on  to  fight  and  die  in  shame, 
That,  Talbot  dead,  great  York  might  bear  the  name. 
Cap.  Here  is  Sir  William  Lucy,  who  with  me  lo 

Set  from  our  o'er-match'd  forces  forth  for  aid. 

Enter  Sir  IVilliain  Lucy. 

Som.  How  now,  Sir  William!    whither  were  you  sent? 

Lucy.  Whither,  my  lord  ?  from  bought  and  sold  Lord  Talbot ; 
Who,  ring'd  about  with  bold  adversity. 
Cries  out  for  noble  York  and  Somerset, 
To  beat  assailing  death  from  his  weak  legions : 
And  whiles  the  honourable  captain  there 
Drops  bloody  sweat  from  his  war-wearied  limbs. 
And,  in  advantage  lingering,  looks  for  rescue. 
You,  his  false  hopes,  the  trust  of  England's  honour, 
Keep  off  aloof  with  worthless  emulation.  21 

Let  not  your  private  discord  keep  away 
The  levied  succours  that  should  lend  him  aid, 
While  he,  renowned  noble  gentleman, 
Yields  up  his  life  unto  a  world  of  odds : 
Orleans  the  Bastard,  Charles,  Burgundy, 
Alengon,  Reignier,  compass  him  about, 
And  Talbot  perisheth  by  your  default. 

Som.  York  set  him  on ;  York  should  have  sent  him  aid. 

Lucy.  And  York  as  fast  upon  your  grace  exclaims ;         30 
Swearing  that  you  withhold  his  levied  host. 
Collected  for  this  expedition. 

Som.  York  lies  :  he  might  have  sent  and  had  the  horse : 
I  owe  him  little  duty,  and  less  love ; 
And  take  foul  scorn  to  fawn  on  him  by  sending. 

89 


Act  IV.  Sc.  V.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Lucy.  The  fraud  of  England,  not  the  force  of  France, 
Hath  now  entrapp'd  the  noble-minded  Talbot : 
Never  to  England  shall  he  bear  his  life ; 
But  dies,  betray'd  to  fortune  by  your  strife. 

Som,  Come,  go ;  I  will  dispatch  the  horsemen  straight :  40 
Within  six  hours  they  will  be  at  his  aid. 

Lticy.  Too  late  comes  rescue  :  he  is  ta'en  or  slain ; 
For  fly  he  could  not,  if  he  would  have  fled ; 
And  fly  would  Talbot  never,  though  he  might. 

Som.  If  he  be  dead,  brave  Talbot,  then  adieu ! 

Lucy.  His  fame  lives  in  the  world,  his  shame  in  you. 

[Exeunt. 

Scene  V. 

The  English  camp  near  Bourdeaux. 
Enter  Talbot  and  John  his  son. 

Tal.  O  young  John  Talbot !     I  did  send  for  thee 

To  tutor  thee  in  stratagems  of  war. 

That  Talbot's  name  might  be  in  thee  revived. 

When  sapless  age  and  weak  unable  limbs 

Should  bring  thy  father  to  his  drooping  chair. 

But,  O  malignant  and  ill-boding  stars ! 

Now  thou  art  come  unto  a  feast  of  death, 

A  terrible  and  unavoided  danger : 

Therefore,  dear  boy,  mount  on  my  swiftest  horse ; 

And  I  '11  direct  thee  how  thou  shalt  escape  10 

By  sudden  flight :  come,  dally  not,  be  gone. 
John.  Is  my  name  Talbot  ?  and  am  I  your  son  ? 

And  shall  I  fly?     O,  if  you  love  my  mother. 

Dishonour  not  her  honourable  name. 

To  make  a  bastard  and  a  slave  of  me ! 

The  world  will  say.  he  is  not  Talbot's  blood, 
90 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  v. 

That  basely  fled  when  noble  Talbot  stood. 
Tal.  Fly,  to  revenge  my  death,  if  I  be  slain. 
John.  He  that  flies  so  will  ne'er  return  again. 
Tal.  If  we  both  stay,  we  both  are  sure  to  die.  20 

John.  Then  let  me  stay ;   and,  father,  do  you  fly : 

Your  loss  is  great,  so  your  regard  should  be ; 

My  worth  unknow^n,  no  loss  is  known  in  me. 

Upon  my  death  the  French  can  little  boast ; 

In  yours  they  will,  in  you  all  hopes  are  lost. 

Flight  cannot  stain  the  honour  you  have  won ; 

But  mine  it  w411,  that  no  exploit  have  done : 

You  fled  for  vantage,  every  one  will  swear ; 

But,  if  I  bow,  they  '11  say  it  w^as  for  fear. 

There  is  no  hope  that  ever  I  \\\\\  stay,  30 

If  the  first  hour  I  shrink  and  run  away. 

Here  on  my  knee  I  beg  mortality, 

Rather  than  life  preserved  with  infamy. 
Tal.  Shall  all  thy  mother's  hopes  lie  in  one  tomb  ? 
John.  Ay,  rather  than  I  '11  shame  my  mother's  womb. 
Tal.  Upon  my  blessing,  I  command  thee  go. 
John.  To  fight  I  wdll,  but  not  to  fly  the  foe. 
TaL  Part  of  thy  father  may  be  saved  in  thee. 
John.  No  part  of  him  but  \n\\\  be  shame  in  me. 
Tal.  Thou  never  hadst  renown,  nor  canst  not  lose  it.     40 
John.  Yes,  your  renow^ned  name :   shall  flight  abuse  it  ? 
Tal.  Thy  father's.charge  shall  clear  thee  from  that  stain. 
John.  You.cannot  witnesstfor.me,  being  slain. 

If  death  be  so  apparent,  then  both  fly. 
TaL  And  leave  my  followers  here  to  fight  and  die  ? 

My  age  was  never  tainted  with  such  shame. 
John.  And  shall  my  youth  be  guilty  of  such  blame? 

No  more  can  I  be  sever'd  from  your  side, 

91 


Act  IV.  Sc.  vi.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Than  can  yourself  yourself  in  twain  divide: 
Stay,  go,  do  what  you  will,  the  like  do  I ;  50 

For  live  I  will  not,  if  my  father  die. 
Tal.  Then  here  I  take  my  leave  of  thee,  fair  son, 
Born  to  eclipse  thy  life  this  afternoon. 
Come,  side  by  side  together  live  and  die ; 
And  soul  with  soul  from  France  to  heaven  fly. 

[Exeunt. 

Scene  VI. 

A  Held  of  battle. 

Alarum :    excursions,  zvherem  Talbot's  Son  is  hemmed 
about,  and  Talbot  rescues  him. 

Tal.  Saint  George  and  victory !   fight,  soldiers,  fight : 
The  regent  hath  with  Talbot  broke  his  word. 
And  left  us  to  the  rage  of  France  his  sword. 
Where  is  John  Talbot  ?     Pause,  and  take  thy  breath  ; 
I  gave  thee  life  and  rescued  thee  from  death. 

John.  O,  twice  my  father,  twice  am  I  thy  son ! 

The  life  thou  gavest  me  first  was  lost  and  done, 
Till  with  thy  warlike  sword,  despite  of  fate. 
To  my  determined  time  thou  gavest  new  date. 

Tal.  When  from  the  Dauphin's  crest  thy  sword  struck  fire, 
It  warm'd  thy  father's  heart  with  proud  desire       11 
Of  bold-faced  victory.     Then  leaden  age, 
Quicken'd  with  youthful  spleen  and  warlike  rage, 
Beat  down  Alenc^on,  Orleans,  Burgundy, 
And  from  the  pride  of  Gallia  rescued  thee. 
The  ireful  bastard  Orleans,  that  drew  blood 
From  thee,  my  boy,  and  had  the  maidenhood 
Of  thy  first  fight,  I  soon  encountered, 
92 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  vi. 

And  interchanging  blows  I  quickly  shed 
Some  of  his  bastard  blood ;   and  in  disgrace  20 

Bespoke  him  thus  ;    '  Contaminated  base 
And  misbegotten  blood  I  spill  of  thine, 
Mean  and  right  poor,  for  that  pure  blood  of  mine. 
Which  thou  didst  force  from  Talbot,  my  brave  boy  : ' 
Here,  purposing  the  Bastard  to  destroy, 
Came  in  strong  rescue.     Speak,  thy  father's  care, 
Art  thou  not  weary,  John  ?  how  dost  thou  fare  ? 
Wilt  thou  yet  leave  the  battle,  boy,  and  fly, 
Now,  thou  art  seal'd  the  son  of  chivalry? 
Fly,  to  revenge  my  death  when  I  am  dead :  30 

The  help  of  one  stands  me  in  little  stead. 
O,  too  much  folly  is  it,  well  I  wot, 
To  hazard  all  our  lives  in  one  small  boat ! 
If  I  to-day  die  not  with  Frenchmen's  rage, 
To-morrow  I  shall  die  with  mickle  age: 
By  me  they  nothing  gain  an  if  I  stay ; 
'Tis  but  the  shortening  of  my  life  one  day : 
In  thee  thy  mother  dies,  our  household's  name. 
My  death's  revenge,  thy  youth,  and  England's  fame : 
All  these  and  more  we  hazard  by  thy  stay ;  40 

All  these  are  saved  if  thou  wilt  fly  away. 
John.  The  sword  of  Orleans  hath  not  made  me  smart ; 
These  words  of  yours  draw  life-blood  from  my  heart : 
On  that  advantage,  bought  with  such  a  shame, 
To  save  a  paltry  life  and  slay  bright  fam.e. 
Before  young  Talbot  from  old  Talbot  fly, 
The  coward  horse  that  bear*  me  fall  and  die ! 
And  like  me  to  the  peasant  boys  of  France, 
To  be  shame's  scorn  and  subject  of  mischance! 
Surely,  by  all  the  glory  you  have  won,  50 

93 


Act  IV.  Sc.  vii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

An  if  I  fly,  I  am  not  Talbot's  son : 
Then  talk  no  more  of  flight,  it  is  no  boot ; 
If  son  to  Talbot,  die  at  Talbot's  foot. 
Tal.  Then  follow  thou  thy  desperate  sire  of  Crete, 
Thou  Icarus ;  thy  life  to  me  is  sweet : 
If  thou  wilt  fight,  fight  by  thy  father's  side ; 
And,  commendable  proved,  let 's  die  in  pride. 

[Exeunt. 

Scene  VII. 

'Another  part  of  the  Held. 
Alarum',  excursions.     Enter  old  Talbot  led  by  a  Servant. 

Tal.  Where  is  my  other  life  ?  mine  own  is  gone ; 

O,  where  's  young  Talbot  ?  where  is  valiant  John  ? 

Triumphant  death,  smear'd  with  captivity, 

Young  Talbot's  valour  makes  me  smile  at  thee : 

When  he  perceived  me  shrink  and  on  my  knee, 

His  bloody  sword  he  brandish'd  over  me, 

And,  like  a  hungry  lion,  did  commence 

Rough  deeds  of  rage  and  stern  impatience ; 

But  when  my  angry  guardant  stood  alone. 

Tendering  my  ruin  and  assail'd  of  none,  10 

Dizzy-eyed  fury  and  great  rage  of  heart 

Suddenly  made  him  from  my  side  to  start 

Into  the  clustering  battle  of  the  French ; 

And  in  that  sea  of  blood  my  boy  did  drench 

His  over-mounting  spirit,  and  there  died. 

My  Icarus,  my  blossom,  in  his  pride. 

Serv.  O  my  dear  lord,  lo,  where  your  son  is  borne ! 

Enter  Soldiers,  with  the  body  of  young  Talbot. 
Tal.  Thou  antic  death,  which  laugh'st  us  here  to  scorn, 

94 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  IV.  Sc.  vii. 

Anon,  from  thy  insulting  tyranny, 

Coupled  in  bonds  of  perpetuity,  20 

Two  Talbots,  winged  through  the  lither  sky, 

In  thy  despite  shall  'scape  mortality. 

O  thou,  whose  wounds  become  hard-favour'd  death, 

Speak  to  thy  father  ere  thou  yield  thy  breath ! 

Brave  death  by  speaking,  wliether  he  will  or  no ; 

Imagine  him  a  Frenchman  and  thy  foe. 

Poor  boy !  he  smiles,  methinks,  as  who  should  say, 

Had  death  been  French,  then  death  had  died  to-dav. 

Come,  come  and  lay  him  in  his  father's  arms : 

My  spirit  can  no  longer  bear  these  harms.  30 

Soldiers,  adieu !    I  have  what  I  would  have. 

Now  my  old  arms  are  young  John  Talbot's  grave. 

[Dies. 

Enter    Charles,    AIchqou,    Burgundy,    Bastard, 
La  Pucelle,  and  forces. 

Char.  Had  York  and  Somerset  brought  rescue  in. 
We  should  have  found  a  bloody  day  of  this. 

Bast.  How  the  young  whelp  of  Talbot's,  raging-wood. 
Did  flesh  his  puny  sword  in  Frenchmen's  blood ! 

Puc.  Once  I  encounter'd  him,  and  thus  I  said : 

'  Thou  maiden  youth,  be  vanquish'd  by  a  maid : ' 

But  with  a  proud  majestical  high  scorn. 

He  answer'd  thus :     '  Young  Talbot  was  not  born  40 

To  be  the  pillage  of  a  giglot  wench : ' 

So,  rushing  in  the  bowels  of  the  French, 

He  left  me  proudly,  as  unworthy  fight. 

Bur.  Doubtless  he  would  have  made  a  noble  knight: 
See,  where  he  lies  inhearsed  in  the  arms 
Of  the  most  bloody  nurser  of  his  harms ! 

Bast.  Hew  them  to  pieces,  hack  their  bones  asunder, 

95 


Act  IV.  Sc.  vii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Whose  life  was  England's  glory,  Gallia's  wonder. 
Char.  O,  no,  forbear!   for  that  which  we  have  fled 

During  the  life,  let  us  not  wrong  it  dead.  50 

Enter  Sir  Williaui  Lucy,  attended;   Herald  of  the 
French  preceding. 

Lucy.  Herald,  conduct  me  to  the  Dauphin's  tent, 

To  know  who  hath  obtain'd  the  glory  of  the  day. 
Char.  On  what  submissive  message  art  thou  sent? 
Lucy.  Submission,  Dauphin  !  'tis  a  mere  French  word  ; 

We  English  warriors  wot  not  what  it  means. 

I  come  to  know  what  prisoners  thou  hast  ta'en, 

And  to  survey  the  bodies  of  the  dead. 
CJiar.  For  prisoners  ask'st  thou?   hell  our  prison  is. 

But  tell  me  whom  thou  seek'st. 
Lucy.  But  where  's  the  great  Alcides  of  the  field,  60 

Valiant  Lord  Talbot,  Earl  of  Shrewsbury, 

Created,  for  his  rare  success  in  arms. 

Great  Earl  of  Washford,  Waterford  and  \^alence ; 

Lord  Talbot  of  Goodrig  and  Urchinfield, 

Lord  Strange  of  Blackmere,  Lord  Verdun  of  Alton, 

Lord    Cromwell    of    Wlngfield,    Lord    Furnival    of 
Sheffield, 

The  thrice-victorious  Lord  of  Falconbridge ; 

Knight  of  the  noble  order  of  Saint  George, 

Worthy  Saint  Michael  and  the  Golden  Fleece ; 

Great  marshal  to  Henry  the  Sixth  70 

Of  all  his  wars  within  the  realm  of  France  ? 
Puc.  Here  is  a  silly  stately  style  indeed! 

The  Turk,  that  two  and  fifty  kingdoms  hath, 

Writes  not  so  tedious  a  style  as  this. 

Him  that  thou  magnifiest  with  all  these  titles 

96 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  i. 

Stinking  and  fly-blown  lies  here  at  our  feet. 

Lucy.  Is  Talbot  slain,  the  Frenchmen's  only  scourge, 
Your  kingdom's  terror  and  black  Nemesis  ? 
O,  were  mine  eyeballs  into  bullets  turn'd. 
That  I  in  rage  might  shoot  them  at  your  faces !        80 
O,  that  I  could  but  call  these  dead  to  life ! 
It  were  enough  to  fright  the  realm  of  France : 
Were  but  his  picture  left  amongst  you  here, 
It  would  amaze  the  proudest  .of  you  all. 
Give  me  their  bodies,  that  I  may  bear  them  hence 
And  give  them  burial  as  beseems  their  worth. 

Puc.  I  think  this  upstart  is  old  Talbot's  ghost, 

He  speaks  with  such  a  proud  commanding  spirit. 
For  God's  sake,  let  him  have  'em ;  to  keep  them  here, 
They  would  but  stink,  and  putrefy  the  air.  90 

Char.  Go,  take  their  bodies  hence. 

Lucy.  I  '11  bear  them  hence ;    but  from  their  ashes  shall 
be  rear'd 
A  phoenix  that  shall  make  all  France  afeard. 

Char.  So  we  be  rid  of  them,  do  with  'em  what  thou  wait. 
And  now  to  Paris,  in  this  conquering  vein  : 
All  will  be  ours,  now  bloody  Talbot 's  slain. 

[Exeunt. 

ACT   FIFTH. 
Scene  I. 

London.     The  palace. 

Sennet.     Enter  King,  Gloucester,  and  Exeter. 

King.  Have  you  perused  the  letters  from  the  pope, 

The  emperor,  and  the  Earl  of  Armagnac  ? 
Gloii,  I  have,  my  lord :  and  their  intent  is  this 

97 


Act  V.  Sc.  i.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

They  humbly  sue  unto  your  excellence 

To  have  a  godly  peace  concluded  of 

Between  the  realms  of  England  and  of  France. 

King.  How  doth  your  grace  affect  their  motion  ? 

Glou.  \A'ell,  my  good  lord ;    and  as  the  only  means 
To  stop  effusion  of  our  Christian  blood 
And  stablish  quietness  on  every  side.  lo 

King.  Ay,  marry,  uncle ;   for  I  always  thought 
It  was  both  impious  and  unnatural 
That  such  immanity  and  bloody  strife 
Should  reign  among  professors  of  one  faith. 

Glou.  Beside,  my  lord,  the  sooner  to  effect 
And  surer  bind  this  knot  of  amity. 
The  Earl  of  Armagnac,  near  knit  to  Charles, 
A  man  of  great  authority  in  France, 
Proffers  his  only  daughter  to  your  grace 
In  marriage,  with  a  large  and  sumptuous  dowry.    20 

King.  Marriage,  uncle !   alas,  my  years  are  young ! 
And  fitter  is  my  study  and  my  books 
Than  wanton  dalliance  with  a  paramour. 
Yet  call  the  ambassadors ;   and,  as  you  please, 
So  let  them  have  their  answers  every  one : 
I  shall  be  well  content  with  any  choice 
Tends  to  God's  glory  and  my  country's  weal. 

Enter  Winchester  in  Cardinals  Jiabit,  a  Legate 
and  tzvo  Ambassadors. 

Exe.  What !   is  my  Lord  of  Winchester  install'd. 
And  call'd  unto  a  cardinal's  degree? 
Then  I  perceive  that  v/ill  be  verified  30 

Henry  the  Fifth  did  sometim.e  prophesy, 
*  If  once  he  come  to  be  a  cardinal, 
98 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  i. 

He  '11  make  his  cap  co-equal  with  the  crown/ 

King.  My  lords  ambassadors,  your  several  suits 
Have  been  consider'd  and  debated  on. 
Your  purpose  is  both  good  and  reasonable ; 
And  therefore  are  we  certainly  resolved 
To  draw  conditions  of  a  friendly  peace ; 
Which  by  my  Lord  of  Winchester  we  mean 
Shall  be  transported  presently  to  France.  40 

Clou.  And  for  the  proffer  of  my  lord  your  master, 
I  have  inform'd  his  highness  so  at  large, 
As  liking  of  the  lady's  virtuous  gifts 
Her  beauty  and  the  value  of  her  dower, 
He  doth  intend  she  shall  be  England's  queen. 

King.  In  argument  and  proof  of  which  contract, 
Bear  her  this  jewel,  pledge  of  my  affection. 
And  so,  my  lord  protector,  see  them  guarded 
And  safely  brought  to  Dover ;   where  inshipp'd 
Commit  them  to  the  fortune  of  the  sea.  50 

[Exeunt  all  but  Winchester  and  Legate. 

Win.  Stay,  my  lord  legate :   you  shall  first  receive 
The  sum  of  money  which  I  promised 
Should  be  deliver'd  to  his  holiness 
For  clothing  me  in  these  grave  ornaments. 

Leg.  I  will  attend  upon  your  lordship's  leisure. 

Win.    [Aside]    Now  Winchester  will  not  submit,  I  trow. 
Or  be  inferior  to  the  proudest  peer. 
Humphrey  of  Gloucester,  thou  shalt  well  perceive 
That,  neither  in  birth  or  for  authority, 
The  bishop  will  be  overborne  by  thee :  60 

I  '11  either  make  thee  stoop  and  bend  thy  knee. 
Or  sack  this  country  with  a  mutiny.  [Exeu}it. 


99 


Act  V.  Sc.  ii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Scene  II. 

France.     Plains  in  Anjou. 

Enter  Charles,  Burgundy,  Alengon,  Bastard,  Reignier, 
La  Pucelle,  and  forces. 

Char.  These  news,   my  lords,  may  cheer  our  drooping 
spirits : 

'Tis  said  the  stout  Parisians  do  revolt 

And  turn  again  unto  the  warlike  French. 
Alen,  Then  march  to  Paris,  royal  Charles  of  France, 

And  keep  not  back  your  powers  in  dalliance. 
Puc.  Peace  be  amongst  them,  if  they  turn  to  us ; 

Else,  ruin  combat  with  their  palaces ! 

Enter  Scout. 

Scout.  Success  unto  our  valiant  general. 

And  happiness  to  his  accomplices ! 
Char.  What  tidings  send  our  scouts?   I  prithee,  speak.  lo 
Scout.  The  English  army,  that  divided  was 

Into  two  parties,  is  now  conjoin'd  in  one, 

And  means  to  give  you  battle  presently. 
Char.  Somewhat  too  sudden,  sirs,  the  warning  is ; 

But  we  will  presently  provide  for  them. 
Bur.  I  trust  the  ghost  of  Talbot  is  not  there  : 

Now  he  is  gone,  my  lord,  you  need  not  fear. 
Puc.  Of  all  base  passions,  fear  is  most  accursed. 

Command  the  conquest,  Charles,  it  shall  be  thine, 

Let  Henry  fret  and  all  the  world  repine.  20 

Char.  Then  on,  my  lords ;  and  France  be  fortunate ! 

[Exeunt. 


100 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  iii. 

Scene  III. 

Before  Anglers, 

Alarum.     Excursions.     Enter  La  Pucelle. 

Pitc.  The  regent  conquers,  and  the  Frenchmen  fly. 
Now  help,  ye  charming  spells  and  periapts ; 
And  ye  choice  spirits  that  admonish  me, 
And  give  me  signs  of  future  accidents.         [Thunder. 
You  sp'eedy  helpers,  that  are  substitutes 
Under  the  lordly  monarch  of  the  north, 
Appear  and  aid  me  in  this  enterprise. 

Enter  Fiends. 

This  speedy  and  quick  appearance  argues  proof 

Of  your  accustom'd  diligence  to  me. 

Now,  ye  familiar  spirits,  that  are  cuU'd  lo 

Out  of  the  powerful  regions  under  earth. 

Help  me  this  once,  that  France  may  get  the  field. 

[They  zvalk,  and  speak  not. 
O,  hold  me  not  with  silence  over-long ! 
Where  I  was  wont  to  feed  you  with  my  blood, 
I  '11  lop  a  member  off  and  give  it  you 
In  earnest  of  a  further  benefit. 
So  you  do  condescend  to  help  me  now. 

[They  hang  their  heads. 
No  hope  to  have  redress  ?     My  body  shall 
Pay  recompense,  if  you  will  grant  my  suit. 

[They  shake  their  heads. 
Cannot  my  body  nor  blood-sacrifice  20 

Entreat  you  to  your  wonted  furtherance? 
Then  take  my  soul,  my  body,  soul  and  all. 
Before  that  England  give  the  French  the  foil. 

[They  depart. 

lOI 


Act  V.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

See,  they  forsake  me !     Now  the  time  is  come 

That  France  must  vail  her  lofty-plumed  crest, 

And  let  her  head  fall  into  England's  lap. 

My  ancient  incantations  are  too  weak. 

And  hell  too  strong-  for  me  to  buckle  with : 

Now,  France,  thy  glory  droopeth  to  the  dust.     [Exit. 

Excursions.     Rc-cntcr  La  PuccUc  -fighting  Jian.d  to  hand 
Zi'ith  York;   La  PuccUc  is  taken.     The  French  fly. 

York.  Damsel  of  France,  I  think  I  have  you  fast:  30 

Unchain  your  spirits  now  with  spelling  charms, 
And  try  if  they  can  gain  your  liberty. 
A  goodly  prize,  fit  for  the  devil's  grace ! 
See,  how^  the  ugly  witch  doth  bend  her  brows, 
As  if  with  Circe  she  would  change  my  shape ! 

Puc.  Changed  to  a  worser  shape  thou  canst  not  be. 
No  shape  but  his  can  please  your  dainty  eye. 
No  shape  but  his  can  please  your  dainty  eye. 

Puc.  A  plaguing  mischief  light  on  Charles  and  thee ! 

And  may  ye  both  be  suddenly  surprised  40 

By  bloody  hands,  in  sleeping  on  your  beds  ! 

York.  Fell  banning  hag,  enchantress,  hold  thy  tongue ! 

Puc.  I  prithee,  give  me  leave  to  curse  awhile. 

York.  Curse,  miscreant,  when  thou  comest  to  the  stake. 

[Exeunt. 

Alarum.     Enter  Suffolk,  zvith  Margaret  in  his  hand. 

Siif.  Be  what  thou  wilt,  thou  art  my  prisoner. 

[Ga.':es  on  her. 

0  fairest  beauty,  do  not  fear  nor  fly ! 

For  I  will  touch  thee  but  with  reverent  hands ; 

1  kiss  these  fingers  for  eternal  peace, 

102 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  iii. 

And  lay  them  gently  on  thy  tender  side. 

Who  art  thou  ?  say,  that  I  may  honour  thee.  50 

Mar.  Margaret  my  name,  and  daughter  to  a  king, 
The  King  of  Naples,  whoso'er  thou  art. 

Suf.  An  earl  I  am,  and  Suffolk  am  I  call'd. 
Be  not  offended,  nature's  miracle. 
Thou  art  allotted  to  be  ta'en  by  me : 
So  doth  the  swan  her  downy  cygnets  save. 
Keeping  them  prisoner  underneath  her  wings. 
Yet,  if  this  servile  usage  once  offend, 
Go  and  be  free  again  as  Suffolk's  friend. 

[She  is  going. 

0  stay  !     I  have  no  power  to  let  her  pass  ;  60 
My  hand  would  free  her,  but  my  heart  says  no. 

As  plays  the  sun  upon  the  glassy  streams, 
Twinkling  another  counterfeited  beam. 
So  seems  this  gorgeous  beauty  to  mine  eyes. 
Fain  would  I  woo  her,  yet  I  dare  not  speak : 

1  11  call  for  pen  and  ink,  and  write  my  mind. 
Fie,  de  la  Pole  !   disable  not  thyself  ; 

Hast  not  a  tongue  ?  is  she  not  here  ? 

Wilt  thou  be  daunted  at  a  woman's  sight  ? 

Ay,  beauty's  princely  majesty  is  such,  70 

Confounds  the  tongue  and  makes  the  senses  rough. 
Mar.  Say,  Earl  of  Suffolk, — if  thy  name  be  so — 

What  ransom  must  I  pay  before  I  pass  ? 

For  I  perceive  I  am  thy  prisoner. 
Siif.  How  canst  thou  tell  she  will  deny  thy  suit, 

Before  thou  make  a  trial  of  her  love  ? 
Mor.  Why  speak'st  thou  not?  what  ransom  must  I  pay? 
Siif.  She  's  beautiful  and  therefore  to  be  woo'd ; 

She  is  a  woman,  therefore  to  be  won. 
103 


Act  V.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Mar.  Wilt  thou  accept  of  ransom  ?  yea,  or  no.  80 

Siif.  Fond  man,  remember  that  thou  hast  a  wife ; 

Then  how  can  Margaret  be  thy  paramour? 
Mar.  I  were  best  to  leave  him,  for  he  will  not  hear. 
Suf.  There  all  is  marr'd ;   there  lies  a  cooling  card. 
Mar.  He  talks  at  random ;   sure,  the  man  is  mad. 
Siif.  And  yet  a  dispensation  may  be  had. 
Mar.  And  yet  I  would  that  you  would  answer  me. 
Suf.  I  '11  win  this  Lady  Margaret.     For  whom  ? 

Why,  for  my  king :   tush,  that 's  a  wooden  thing ! 
Mar.  He  talks  of  wood  :   it  is  some  carpenter.  90 

Suf.  Yet  so  my  fancy  may  be  satisfied, 

And  peace  established  between  these  realms. 

But  there  remains  a  scruple  in  that  too ; 

For  though  her  father  be  the  King  of  Naples, 

Duke  of  Anjou  and  Maine,  yet  is  he  poor. 

And  our  nobility  will  scorn  the  match. 
Mar.  Hear  ye,  captain,  are  you  not  at  leisure? 
Sitf.  It  shall  be  so,  disdain  they  ne'er  so  much : 

Henry  is  youthful  and  will  quickly  yield. 

Madam,  I  have  a  secret  to  reveal.  100 

Mar.  What  though  I  be  enthrall'd  ?  he  seems  a  knight, 

And  will  not  any  way  dishonour  me. 
Suf.  Lady,  vouchsafe  to  listen  what  I  say. 
Mar.  Perhaps  I  shall  be  rescued  by  the  French ; 

And  then  I  need  not  crave  his  courtesy. 
Suf.  Sweet  madam,  give  me  hearing  in  a  cause — 
Mar.  Tush,  women  have  been  captivate  ere  now. 
Suf.  Lady,  wherefore  talk  you  so? 
Mar.  I  cry  you  mercy,  'tis  but  Quid  for  Quo. 
Siif.  Say,  gentle  princess,  would  you  not  suppose         no 

Your  bondage  happy,  to  be  made  a  queen  ? 

104 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  iii. 

Mar.  To  be  a  queen  in  bondage  is  more  vile 

Than  is  a  slave  in  base  servility ; 

For  princes  should  be  free. 
Suf.  And  so  shall  you, 

If  happy  England's  royal  king  be  free. 
Mar.  AA'hy,  what  concerns  his  freedom  unto  me? 
Suf.  I  '11  undertake  to  make  thee  Henry's  queen, 

To  put  a  golden  sceptre  in  thy  hand 

And  set  a  precious  crown  upon  thy  head, 

If  thou  wilt  condescend  to  be  my — 
Mar.  What?  120 

Suf.  His  love. 

Mar.  I  am  unworthy  to  be  Henry's  wife. 
Suf.  No,  gentle  madam  ;   I  unworthy  am 

To  woo  so  fair  a  dame  to  be  his  wife, 

And  have  no  portion  in  the  choice  myself. 

How  say  you,  madam,  are  ye  so  content? 
Mar.  An  if  my  father  please,  I  am  content. 
Siif.  Then  call  our  captains  and  our  colours  forth. 

And,  madam,  at  your  father's  castle  walls 

We  '11  crave  a  parley,  to  confer  with  him.  130 

A  parley  sounded.     Enter  Reignier  on  the  walls. 

See,  Reignier,  see,  thy  daughter  prisoner! 
Reig.  To  whom  ? 
Suf.  To  me. 

Reig.  Suffolk,  what  remedy? 

I  am  a  soldier,  and  unapt  to  weep, 

Or  to  exclaim  on  fortune's  fickleness. 
Siif.  Yes,  there  is  remedy  enough,  my  lord : 

Consent,  and  for  thy  honour  give  consent, 

Thy  daughter  shall  be  w^edded  to  my  king ; 

105 


Act  V.  Sc.  iii.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Whom  I  with  pain  have  woo'd  and  won  thereto ; 

And  this  her  easy-held  imprisonment 

Hath  gain'd  thy  daughter  princely  liberty.  140 

Reig.   Speaks  Suffolk  as  he  thinks? 
Sitf.  Fair  Margaret  knows 

That  Suffolk  doth  not  flatter,  face,  or  feign. 
Rcig.  Upon  thy  princely  warrant,  I  descend 

To  give  thee  answer  of  thy  just  demand. 

[Esif  from  the  walls. 
Siif.   And  here  I  will  expect  thy  coming. 

Trumpets  sound.     Enter  Reiguier,  helozv. 

Reig.  Welcome, "brave  earl,  into  our  territories: 
Command  in  Anjou  what  your  honour  pleases. 

Suf.  Thanks,  Reignier,  happy  for  so  sweet  a  child. 
Fit  to  be  made  companion  with  a  king : 
What  answer  makes  your  grace  unto  my  suit?        150 

Reig.  Since  thou  dost  deign  to  woo  her  little  worth 
To  be  the  princely  bride  of  such  a  lord ; 
Upon  condition  I  may  quietly 
Enjoy  mine  own,  the  country  IMaine  and  Anjou, 
Free  from  oppression  or  the  stroke  of  war, 
My  daughter  shall  be  Henry's,  if  he  please. 

Suf.  That  is  her  ransom  ;   I  deliver  her  ; ' 

And  those  two  counties  I  will  undertake 
Your  grace  shall  well  and  quietly  enjoy. 

Reig.  And  I  again,  in  Henry's  royal  name,  160 

As  deputy  unto  that  gracious  king, 
Give  thee  her  hand,  for  sign  of  plighted  faith. 

Suf.  Reignier  of  France,  I  give  thee  kingly  thanks, 
Because  this  is  in  traffic  of  a  king. 
Aside]  And  yet,  methinks,  I  could  be  well  content 

106 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  iii. 

To  be  mine  own  attorney  in  this  case. 

I  '11  over  then  to  England  with  this  news, 

And  make  this  marriage  to  be  solemnized. 

So  farewell,  Reignier :    set  this  diamond  safe 

In  golden  palaces,  as  it  becomes.  170 

Reig.  I  do  embrace  thee,  as  I  would  embrace 

The  Christian  prince,  King  Henry,  were  he  here. 
Mar.  Farewell,  my  lord :  good  wishes,  praise  and  prayers 

Shall  Suffolk  ever  have  of  Margaret.  \^Going. 

Stif.  Farewell,  sweet  madam :  but  hark  you,  Margaret ; 

No  princely  commendations  to  my  king? 
Mar.  Such  commendations  as  becomes  a  maid, 

A  virgin  and  his  servant,  say  to  him. 
Suf.  Words  sweetly  placed  and  modestly  directed. 

But,  madam,  I  must  trouble  you  again;  180 

No  loving  token  to  his  majesty? 
Mar.  Yes,  my  good  lord,  a  pure  unspotted  heart. 

Never  yet  taint  with  love,  I  send  the  king. 
Suf.  And  this  withal.  [Kisses  her. 

Mar.  That  for  thyself :   I  will  not  so  presume 

To  send  such  peevish  tokens  to  a  king. 

[Exeunt  Reignier  and  Margaret. 
Suf.  O,  wert  thou  for  myself !     But,  Suffolk,  stay ; 

Thou  mayst  not  wander  in  that  labyrinth ; 

There  Minotaurs  and  ugly  treasons  lurk. 

Solicit  Henry  with  her  wondrous  praise :  190 

Bethink  thee  on  her  virtues  that  surmount, 

And  natural  graces  that  extinguish  art ; 

Repeat  their  semblance  often  on  the  seas. 

That,  when  thou  comest  to  kneel  at  Henry's  feet, 

Thou  mayest  bereave  him  of  his  w4ts  with  wonder. 

[Exit. 


107 


Act  V.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Scene  IV. 

Camp  of  the  Duke  of  York  in  Anjoii. 
Enter  York,  Warzvick,  and  others, 
York.  Bring-  forth  that  sorceress  condemn'd  to  burn. 

Enter  La  Pucelle,  guarded,  and  a  Shepherd. 

Shep,  Ah,  Joan,  this  kills  thy  father's  heart  outright! 

Have  I  sought  every  country  far  and  near, 

And,  now  it  is  my  chance  to  find  thee  out, 

Must  I  behold  thy  timeless  cruel  death? 

Ah,  Joan,  sweet  daughter  Joan,  I  '11  die  with  thee ! 
Puc.  Decrepit  miser !   base  ignoble  wretch  ! 

I  am  descended  of  a  gentler  blood : 

Thou  art  no  father  nor  no  friend  of  mine. 
Shep.  Out,  out !     My  lords,  an  please  you,  'tis  not  so ;    lo 

I  did  beget  her,  all  the  parish  knows : 

Her  mother  liveth  yet,  can  testify 

She  was  the  first  fruit  of  my  bachelorship. 
War.  Graceless  !  wilt  thou  deny  thy  parentage  ? 
York.  This  argues  what  her  kind  of  life  hath  been, 

Wicked  and  vile ;   and  so  her  death  concludes. 
Shep.  Fie,  Joan,  that  thou  wilt  be  so  obstacle ! 

God  knows  thou  art  a  collop  of  my  flesh ; 

And  for  thy  sake  have  I  shed  many  a  tear : 

Deny  me  not,  I  prithee,  gentle  Joan.  20 

Puc.  Peasant,  avaunt !     You  have  suborn'd  this  man. 

Of  purpose  to  obscure  my  noble  birth. 
Shep.  'Tis  true,  I  gave  a  noble  to  the  priest 

The  morn  that  I  was  wedded  to  her  mother. 

Kneel  down  and  take  my  blessing,  good  my  girl. 

Wilt  thou  not  stoop  ?     Now  cursed  be  the  time 

io8 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  iv. 

Of  thy  nativity  !     I  would  the  milk 

Thy  mother  gave  thee  when  thou  suck'dst  her  breast, 

Had  been  a  little  ratsbane  for  thy  sake ! 

Or  else,  when  thou  didst  keep  my  lambs  a-field,      30 

I  wish  some  ravenous  wolf  had  eaten  thee ! 

Dost  thou  deny  thy  father,  cursed  drab? 

O,  burn  her,  bum  her !    hanging  is  too  good.   [Exit. 

York.  Take  her  away ;   for  she  hath  lived  too  long. 
To  fill  the  world  with  vicious  quaiities. 

Puc.  First,  let  me  tell  you  whom  you  have  condemn'd : 
Not  me  begotten  of  a  shepherd  swain. 
But  issued  from  the  progeny  of  kings ; 
Virtuous  and  holy  ;  chosen  from  above, 
By  inspiration  of  celestial  grace,  40 

To  work  exceeding  miracles  on  earth. 
I  never  had  to  do  with  wicked  spirits : 
But  you,  that  are  polluted  with  your  lusts, 
Stain'd  with  the  guiltless  blood  of  innocents, 
Corrupt  and  tainted  with  a  thousand  vices. 
Because  you  want  the  grace  that  others  have, 
You  judge  it  straight  a  thing  impossible 
To  compass  wonders  but  by  help  of  devils. 
No,  misconceived !     Joan  of  Arc  hath  been 
A  virgin  from  her  tender  infancy,  50 

Chaste  and  immaculate  in  very  thought ; 
Whose  maiden  blood,  thus  rigorously  effused, 
Will  cry  for  vengeance  at  the  gates  of  heaven. 

York.  Ay,  ay :  away  with  her  to  execution ! 

War.  And  hark  ye,  sirs ;  because  she  is  a  maid, 
Spare  for  no  faggots,  let  there  be  enow : 
Place  barrels  of  pitch  upon  the  fatal  stake, 
That  so  her  torture  may  be  shortened. 
109 


Act  V.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Puc.  Will  nothing  turn  your  unrelenting  hearts  ? 

Then,  Joan,  discover  thine  infirmity,  60 

That  warranteth  by  law  to  be  thy  privilege. 

I  am  with  child,  ye  bloody  homicides : 

Murder  not  then  the  fruit  within  my  womb. 

Although  ye  hale  me  to  a  violent  death. 
York.  Now  heaven  forfend  !   the  holy  maid  with  child  ! 
War.  The  greatest  miracle  that  e'er  ye  wrought : 

Is  all  your  strict  preciseness  come  to  this  ? 
York.  She  and  the  Dauphin  have  been  juggling: 

I  did  imagine  what  would  be  her  refuge. 
War.  Well,  go  to ;  we  '11  have  no  bastards  live ;  70 

Especially  since  Charles  must  father  it. 
Puc.  You  arc  deceived ;   my  child  is  none  of  his  * 

It  was  Alengon  that  enjoyed  my  love. 
York.  Alengon !  that  notorious  Machiavel ! 

It  dies,  an  if  it  had  a  thousand  lives. 
Puc.  O,  give  me  leave,  I  have  deluded  you : 

'Twas  neither  Charles  nor  yet  the  duke  I  named. 

But  Reignier,  king  of  Naples,  that  prevail'd. 
War.  A  married  man  !   that 's  most  intolerable. 
York.  Why,  here  's  a  girl !   I  think  she  knows  not  well,  80 

There  were  so  many,  whom  she  may  accuse. 
War.  It 's  sign  she  hath  been  liberal  and  free. 
York.  And  yet,  forsooth,  she  is  a  virgin  pure. 

Strumpet,  thy  words  condemn  thy  brat  and  thee : 

Use  no  entreaty,  for  it  is  in  vain. 
Puc.  Then    lead    me    hence;    with    whom    I    leave  my 
curse : 

May  never  glorious  sun  reflex  his  beams 

Upon  the  country  where  you  make  abode ; 

But  darkness  and  the  gloomy  shade  of  death 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  iv. 

Environ  you,  till  mischief  and  despair  90 

Drive  you  to  break  your  necks  or  hang  yourselves ! 

[Exit,  guarded. 
York.  Break  thou  in  pieces  and  consume  to  ashes, 
Thou  foul  accursed  minister  of  hell ! 

Enter  Cardinal  Beaufort,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  attended. 

Car.  Lord  regent,  I  do  greet  your  excellence 
With  letters  of  commission  from  the  king. 
For  know,  my  lords,  the  states  of  Christendom, 
Moved  with  remorse  of  these  outrageous  broils, 
Have  earnestly  implored  a  general  peace 
Betwixt  our  nation  and  the  aspiring  French  ; 
And  here  at  hand  the  Dauphin  and  his  train  100 

Approacheth,  to  confer  about  some  matter. 

York.  Is  all  our  travail  turn'd  to  this  effect? 
After  the  slaughter  of  so  many  peers. 
So  many  captains,  gentlemen  and  soldiers, 
That  in  this  quarrel  have  been  overthrown. 
And  sold  their  bodies  for  their  country's  benefit, 
Shall  we  at  last  conclude  effeminate  peace? 
Have  we  not  lost  most  part  of  all  the  towns. 
By  treason,  falsehood  and  by  treachery, 
Our  great  progenitors  had  conquered?  no 

O,  Warwick,  Warwick !     I  foresee  with  grief 
The  utter  loss  of  all  the  realm  of  France. 

War.  Be  patient,  York :  if  we  conclude  a  peace. 

It  shall  be  with  such  strict  and  severe  covenants 
As  little  shall  the  Frenchmen  gain  thereby. 

Enter  Charles,  Alencon,  Bastard,  Reignier,  and  others. 

Char.   Since,  lords  of  England,  it  is  thus  agreed 

III 


Act  V.  Sc.  iv.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

That  peaceful  truce  shall  be  proclaim'd  in  France, 
We  come  to  be  informed  by  yourselves 
What  the  conditions  of  that  league  must  be. 

York.   Speak,  Winchester ;   for  boiling  choler  chokes 

The  hollow  passage  of  my  poison'd  voice,  121 

By  sight  of  these  our  baleful  enemies. 

Car.  Charles,  and  the  rest,  it  is  enacted  thus : 
That,  in  regard  King  Henry  gives  consent, 
Of  mere  compassion  and  of  lenity. 
To  ease  your  country  of  distressful  war. 
And  suffer  you  to  breathe  in  fruitful  peace, 
You  shall  become  true  liegemen  to  his  crown : 
And,  Charles,  upon  condition  thou  wilt  swear 
To  pay  him  tribute,  and  submit  thyself,  130 

Thou  shalt  be  placed  as  viceroy  under  him, 
And  still  enjoy  thy  regal  dignity. 

Alen.  Must  he  be  then  as  shadow  of  himself? 
Adorn  his  temples  with  a  coronet, 
And  yet,  in  substance  and  authority, 
Retain  but  privilege  of  a  private  man? 
This  proffer  is  absurd  and  reasonless. 

Char.   Tis  known  already  that  I  am  possess'd 
With  more  than  half  the  Gallian  territories, 
And  therein  reverenced  for  their  lawful  king:        140 
Shall  I,  for  lucre  of  the  rest  unvanquish'd, 
Detract  so  much  from  that  prerogative. 
As  to  be  caird  but  viceroy  of  the  whole? 
No,  lord  ambassador,  I  '11  rather  keep 
That  which  I  have  than,  coveting  for  more, 
Be  cast  from  possibility  of  all. 

York.  Insulting  Charles !   hast  thou  by  secret  means 
Used  intercession  to  obtain  a  league, 
112 


KING  KENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  iv. 

And,  now  the  matter  grows  to  compromise, 

Stand'st  thou  aloof  upon  comparison  ?  150 

Either  accept  the  title  thou  usurp'st, 

Of  benefit  proceeding-  from  our  king 

And  not  of  any  challenge  of  desert, 

Or  we  will  plague  thee  with  incessant  wars. 
Reig.  My  lord,  you  do  not  well  in  obstinacy 

To  cavil  in  the  course  of  this  contract : 

If  once  it  be  neglected,  ten  to  one 

We  shall  not  find  like  opportunity. 
Alen.  To  say  the  truth,  it  is  your  policy 

To  save  your  subjects  from  such  massacre  160 

And  ruthless  slaughters,  as  are  daily  seen, 

By  our  proceeding  in  hostility ; 

And  therefore  take  this  compact  of  a  truce. 

Although  you  break  it  when  your  pleasure  serves. 
War.  How  say'st  thou,  Charles  ?  shall  our  condition  stand  ? 
Char.  It  shall; 

Only  reserved,  you  claim  no  interest 

In  any  of  our  towns  of  garrison. 
York.  Then  swear  allegiance  to  his  majesty, 

As  thou  art  knight,  never  to  disobey  170 

Nor  be  rebellious  to  the  crown  of  England, 

Thou,  nor  thy  nobles,  to  the  crown  of  England. 

So,  now  dismiss  your  army  when  ye  please ; 

Hang  up  your  ensigns,  let  your  drums  be  still. 

For  here  we  entertain  a  solemn  peace.  [^Exciint. 


"3 


Act  V.  Sc.  V.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Scene  V. 

London.     The  royal  palace. 

Enter  Suffolk  in  conference  zvith  the  King,  Gloucester 
and  Exeter. 

King.  Your  wondrous  rare  description,  noble  earl, 
Of  beauteous  Margaret  hath  astonish'd  me : 
Her  virtues  graced  with  external  gifts 
Do  breed  love's  settled  passions  in  my  heart : 
And  like  as  rigour  of  tempestuous  gusts 
Provokes  the  mightiest  hulk  against  the  tide. 
So  am  I  driven  by  breath  of  her  renown, 
Either  to  suffer  shipwreck  or  arrive 
Where  I  may  have  fruition  of  her  love. 

Snf.  Tush,  my  good  lord,  this  superficial  tale  lO 

Is  but  a  preface  of  her  worthy  praise ; 
The  chief  perfections  of  that  lovely  dame, 
-    ■  Had  I  sufficient  skill  to  utter  them, 

Would  make  a  volume  of  enticing  lines, 

Able  to  ravish  any  dull  conceit : 

And,  which  is  more,  she  is  not  so  divine, 

So  full-replete  with  choice  of  all  delights. 

But  with  as  humble  lowliness  of  mind 

She  is  content  to  be  at  your  command  ; 

Command,  I  mean,  of  virtuous  chaste  intents,  20 

To  love  and  honour  Henry  as  her  lord. 

King.  And  otherwise  will  Henry  ne'er  presume. 
Therefore,  my  lord  protector,  give  consent 
That  Margaret  may  be  England's  royal  queen. 

Glou.  So  should  I  give  consent  to  flatter  sin. 

You  know,  my  lord,  your  highness  is  betrothM 
Unto  another  lady  of  esteem : 

114 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  v. 

How  shall  we  then  dispense  with  that  contract, 
And  not  deface  your  honour  with  reproach  ? 

Siif.  As  doth  a  ruler  with  unlawful  oaths ;  30 

Or  one  that,  at  a  triumph  having  vow'd 
To  try  his  strength,  forsaketh  yet  the  lists 
By  reason  of  his  adversary's  odds : 
A  poor  earl's  daughter  is  unequal  odds. 
And  therefore  may  be  broke  without  offence. 

Gloii.  Why,  what,  I  pray,  is  ^Margaret  more  than  that  ? 
Her  father  is  no  better  than  an  earl. 
Although  in  glorious  titles  he  excel. 

Suf.  Yes,  my  lord,  her  father  is  a  king, 

The  King  of  Naples  and  Jerusalem ;  40 

And  of  such  great  authority  in  France, 
As  his  alliance  \w\\\  confirm  our  peace, 
And  keep  the  Frenchmen  in  allegiance. 

Clou.  And  so  the  Earl  of  Armagnac  may  do, 
Because  he  is  near  kinsman  unto  Charles. 

Exc.   Beside,  his  wealth  doth  warrant  a  liberal  dower, 
\Miere  Reignier  sooner  will  receive  than  give. 

Suf.  A  dower,  my  lords !   disgrace  not  so  your  king, 
That  he  should  be  so  abject,  base  and  poor, 
To  choose  for  wealth  and  not  for  perfect  love.        50 
Henry  is  able  to  enrich  his  queen. 
And  not  to  seek  a  queen  to  make  him  rich  : 
So  worthless  peasants  bargain  for  their  wives. 
As  market-men  for  oxen,  sheep,  or  horse. 
Marriage  is  a  matter  of  more  worth 
Than  to  be  dealt  in  by  attorneyship ; 
Not  whom  we  will,  but  whom  his  grace  affects. 
Must  be  companion  of  his  nuptial  bed  : 
And  therefore,  lords,  since  he  affects  her  most, 

115 


Act  V.  Sc.  V.  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

It  most  of  all  these  reasons  bindeth  us,  60 

In  our  opinions  she  should  be  preferr'd. 
For  what  is  wedlock  forced  but  a  hell, 
An  age  of  discord  and  continual  strife? 
Whereas  the  contrary  bringeth  bliss, 
And  is  a  pattern  of  celestial  peace. 
Whom  should  we  match  with  Henry,  being  a  king, 
But  Margaret,  that  is  daughter  to  a  king  ? 
Her  peerless  feature,  joined  with  her  birth,  * 
Approves  her  fit  for  none  but  for  a  king : 
Her  valiant  courage  and  undaunted  spirit,  70 

More  than  in  women  commonly  is  seen. 
Will  answer  our  hope  in  issue  of  a  king ; 
For  Henry,  son  unto  a  conqueror. 
Is  likely  to  beget  more  conquerors. 
If  with  a  lady  of  so  high  resolve 
As  is  fair  Margaret  he  be  link'd  in  love. 
Then  yield,  my  lords ;   and  here  conclude  with  me 
That  Margaret  shall  be  queen,  and  none  but  she. 
King.  Whether  it  be  through  force  of  your  report, 

My  noble  Lord  of  Suffolk,  or  for  that  80 

My  tender  youth  was  never  yet  attaint 

With  any  passion  of  inflaming  love, 

I  cannot  tell ;   but  this  I  am  assured, 

I  feel  such  sharp  dissension  in  my  breast, 

Such  fierce  alarums  both  of  hope  and  fear. 

As  I  am  sick  with  working  of  my  thoughts. 

Take,  therefore,  shipping ;   post,  my  lord,  to  France ; 

Agree  to  any  covenants,  and  procure 

That  Lady  Margaret  do  vouchsafe  to  come 

To  cross  the  seas  to  England,  and  be  crown'd        90 

King  Henry's  faithful  and  anointed  queen  : 

tt6 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Act  V.  Sc.  v. 

For  your  expenses  and  sufficient  charge, 

Among  the  people  gather  up  a  tenth. 

Be  gone,  I  say ;   for,  till  you  do  return, 

I  rest  perplexed  with  a  thousand  cares. 

And  you,  good  uncle,  banish  all  offence : 

If  you  do  censure  me  by  what  you  were. 

Not  what  you  are,  I  know  it  will  excuse 

This  sudden  execution  of  my  will. 

And  so,  conduct  me  where,  from  company,  loo 

I  may  revolve  and  ruminate  my  grief.  [Exit. 

Glou.  Ay,  grief,  I  fear  me,  both  at  first  and  last. 

[Exeunt  Gloucester  and  Exeter. 

Suf.  Thus  Suffolk  hath  prevail'd ;  and  thus  he  goes, 
As  did  the  youthful  Paris  once  to  Greece, 
With  hope  to  find  the  like  event  in  love. 
But  prosper  better  than  the  Trojan  did. 
Margaret  shall  now  be  queen,  and  rule  the  king; 
But  I  will  rule  both  her,  the  king  and  realm.       [Exit. 


117 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


Glossary, 


Accidents,  events;  V.  iii.  4. 
Accomplices,  fellows  in  arms; 

V.  ii.  9- 
Admonishments,     instructions ; 

II.  V.  98. 
Advantage,  occasion  ;  II,  v.  129. 
Affects,  cares  for,  loves;  V.  v. 

57- 

Agascd  on,  aghast  at,  gazing 
with  amazement  at ;  I.  i.  126. 

Alcides,  Hercules;  IV.  vii.  60. 

Alliance,  relationship;  II.  v.  53. 

Amaze,  throw  into  consterna- 
tion; IV.  vii.  84. 

Amort;  "all  a.,"  quite  deject- 
ed; III.  ii.  124. 

Antic,  buffoon  (Folios  i,  2, 
"  antique  "  ;  Folios  3.  4,  "  an- 
tic k")  ;  IV.  vii.  18. 

Apparell'd,  dressed;  II.  iv.  22. 

Apparent,    evident,    plain;     II. 

i-  3- 

Apprehension,  conception  of  me 
(Theobald,  "  reprehension  " ; 
Vaughan,  ''  misapprehension " 
for  "  this  ap.")  ;  II.  iv.  102. 

Argue,  show,  prove ;  II.  v.  7. 

Argument,  token;  V.  i.  46. 

Arms,  coat  of  arms ;  I.  i.  80. 

As,  that ;  III.  i.  16. 

Astrcea,  goddess  of  justice  (Fo- 
lios 2,  3,  4,  "  bright  As- 
trcea  ")  :  I.  vi.  4. 

Attached,  arrested;  II.  iv.  96. 

Attaint,  tainted;  V.  v.  81. 

Attainted,    tainted,     disgraced; 


II.  iv.  92;  convicted  of  capital 
treason,  II.  iv.  96. 
Attorneyship,  discretional 
agency  of  another ;  V.  v.  £6. 

Banding,  uniting  in  troops;  III. 
i.  81. 

Banning,  cursing;  V.  iii.  42. 

Bay;  "  stand  at  b.,"  a  term  of 
the  chase,  "  when  the  game  is 
driven  to  extremity  and  turns 
against  its  pursuers " ;  IV. 
ii.  52. 

Beard;  "  b.  thee  to  thy  face," 
set  thee  at  defiance ;  I.  iii.  44. 

Beacon;  III.  ii.  29.  (Cp.  illus- 
tration.) 


From  a  XVth  century  specimen. 


iiB 


KING  HENRY  VI. 


Glossary 


Bearing-cloth,  the  cloth  or 
mantle  in  which  the  child  was 
carried  to  the  font ;  I.  iii.  42. 


Bearing  Cloth 

From  a  French  print  {c.  1600  a.d.) 

by  Bonnart. 

Benefit;  "  of  b.,"  used  in  its  le- 
gal sense  of  property  be- 
stowed by  the  favour  of  an- 
other ;  V.  iv.  152. 

Beside,  besides;  III.  i.  24. 

Best;  "  I  were  best,"  it  were 
better  for  me ;  V.  iii.  83. 

Bestow,  place,  lodge;  III.  ii.  88. 

Bewray' d,  betrayed;  IV.  i.  107. 

Bishop;  "the  b.  and  the  D.  of 
Gloucester's  men";  i.e.  bish- 
op's men  (Hanmer,  "Bish- 
op's") ;  III.  i.  78. 

Blood;  "  in  b.."  in  perfect 
health  and  vigour ;  a  techni- 
cal term  of  the  chase;  IV.  ii. 
48. 

Blue  coats,  blue  was  the  ordi- 
nary colour  of  the  livery  of 
serving-men  ;  I.  iii.  47. 


Boot;   "it   is   no  b.,"   it   is   no 

profit,  use ;  IV.  vi.  52. 
Bought     and     sold,     betrayed; 

IV.  iv.  13. 
Bounds,   boundaries,   limits;   I. 

ii.  54. 
Bow,     depart      (Collier     MS., 

"■iy";     Long    MS.,    "go"; 

Vaughan,  "  budge  ")  ;  IV,  v. 

29. 
Braved,  defied;  II.  iv.  115. 
Break,  broach    (Pope  "tell"); 

I.  iii.  81. 
Break    up,    break    open    (Gray 

conjectured  "Break   ope"); 

I.  iii.  13. 

Bruited,  noised  abroad;  II.  iii. 

68. 
Buckle  with,  join  in  close  fight 

with  ;  I.  ii.  95. 
Bull-beeves,  oxen,  beef;  I.  ii.  9. 

Canker,    canker-worm;    II.    iv. 

68. 
Canvass,  toss  as  in  a  canvass, 

"toss   in   a   blanket";   I.   iii. 

36. 
Cap,  Cardinal's  hat ;  V.  i.  33. 
Captivate,  captive ;  II.  iii.  42. 
Cates,   delicacies,    dainties;    II. 

iii.  79. 
Censure,    judgement,    opinion; 

II.  iii.  10. 

,  judge;  V.  v.  97. 

Challenge,  claim ;  V.  iv.  153. 

Charge,  expense,  cost ;  V.  v.  92. 

Cheer,  countenance ;  I.  ii.  48. 

Circumstance,  circumstances, 
details ;  I.  i.  109. 

Clubs;  "  I  '11  call  for  clubs  "  ; 
"  in  any  public  affray  the  cry 
was  '  Clubs  !  clubs  !  '  by  way 


119 


Glossary 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


of  calling  for  persons  with 
clubs  to  part  the  combatants  " 
(Nares)  ;  I.  iii.  84. 

Coat,  coat  of  arms;  I.  i.  81. 

Cognizance,  badge;  II.  iv.  108. 

Collop,  slice  of  meat ;  V.  iv. 
18. 

Colours i  pretence  (with  play 
upon  the  two  senses  of  the 
word)  ;  II.  iv.  34. 

Commandment,  command  ; 
quadrisyllabic  (Folios  i,  2,  3, 
"  comniandement  ")  ;  I.  iii. 
20. 

Conceit,  invention,  IV.  i.  102 ; 
understanding,  V.  v.  15. 

Consented  unto,  conspired  to 
bring  about ;  I.  i.  5. 

Contemptible,  mean,  low;  I.  ii. 
75. 

Contumcliously,  contemptuous- 
ly; I.  iii.  58. 

Conveyance,  dishonest  prac- 
tices; I.  iii.  2. 

Cooling  card,  "  something  to 
damp  or  overwhelm  the 
hopes  of  an  expectant  " ;  V. 
iii.  84, 

Cornets,  horsemen,  cavalry; 
IV.  iii.  25. 

Corrosive,  fretting,  giving  pain 
(Folios  2,  3,  "  corrasive" ; 
Boswell,  "a  corrosive")  ; 
III.  iii.  3. 

Court  of  guard,  main  guard- 
house; II.  i.  4. 

Crazy,  decrepit,  weak ;  III.  ii. 
89. 

Crestless,  with  no  right  to  coat- 
armour  ;  II.  iv.  85. 

Cunning,  skill;  III.  iii.  10. 


Damascus ;  alluding  to  the  an- 
cient belief  that  it  was  nea.- 
the  place  where  Cain  killed 
Abel ;  I.  iii.  39. 

Darnel,  a  kind  of  weed,  rye 
grass,  which  is  thought  to  be 
injurious  to  the  eyes;  hence 
the  old  proverb,  lolio  victi- 
tare  (to  feed  on  darnel)  ; 
"  tares  "  in  Matthew  xiii.  25, 
should  perhaps  properly  be 
rendered  "darnels";  III.  ii. 
44. 

Dead  (Folio  2,  "dread");  I. 
iii.  34. 

Dearest,  most  precious ;  III.  iv. 
40. 

Denis ;  "  Saint  Denis,"  the  pa- 
tron saint  of  France  ;  I.  vi.  28. 

Determined,  limited;  IV.  vi.  9. 

Devise  on,  lay  schemes 
(Vaughan,  "decide")',  I.  ii. 
124. 

DiMdencc,  distrust,  suspicion ; 
III.  iii.  10. 

Digest,  vent  (Folio  2,  "  dis- 
gest")  ;  IV.  i.  167. 

Disable,  disparage,  undervalue ; 
V.  iii.  67. 

Discover,  tell ;  II.  v.  59. 

Disease,  cause  of  uneasiness, 
trouble ;  II.  v.  44. 

Dismay  not,  be  not  dismayed; 
III.  Hi.  I. 

Distrain'd,  taken  possession  of; 
I.  iii.  Oi. 

Drooping  chair,  chair  fit  for  de- 
clining age;  IV.  v.  5. 

Due,  endue  (  ?  give  as  thy  due) 
(Folios,  "dew";  Collier, 
"  'due")  ;  IV.  ii.  34. 


120 


KING  HENRY  VI. 


Glossary 


Dumb  signiUcants,  sign?,  indi- 
cations (Pope,  "  d.  signifi- 
cance ")  ;  II.  iv.  26. 

Effused,  shed ;  V.  iv.  52. 
Emulation,  rivalry,  contention; 

IV.  iv.  21. 
Endamage,  injure;  II.  i.  77. 
Enrank,  place   in   order,   battle 

array ;  I.  i.  115. 
Entertain,  maintain,  keep  (Col- 
lier   MS.,    "  enterchange")  \ 

V.  iv.  175. 

Envy,  enmity ;  IV.  i.  193. 

Espials,  spies ;  I,  iv.  8. 

Exempt,  cut  off,  excluded;  11. 
iv.  93. 

Exequies,  obsequies,  funeral 
rites;  III.  ii.  133. 

Exigent,  end  (Vaughan,  "  ex- 
eunt") ;  II.  v.  9. 

Expulsed,  expelled ;  III.  iii.  25. 

Extirped,    extirpated ;    III.    iii, 

24- 

Extremes ;  "  most  ex.,"  greatest 
extremities  of  danger  (Han- 
mer,  "worst  ex.")  ;  IV.  i.  38. 

Face,  lie  with  effrontery ;  V.  iii. 

142. 
Familiar,    familiar    spirit;    III. 

ii.  122. 
Fancy,  love;  V.  iii.  91. 
Fashion      (Pope,     "passion" ; 

Theobald.  "  faction  ")  ;  II.  iv. 

Feature,  make,  form ;  V.  v.  68. 

Flesh,  initiate ;  IV.  vii.  36. 

Flozver-de-luccs,  the  white  lil- 
ies, the  emblem  of  France ;  I. 
i.  80. 

Fond,  foolish ;  II.  iii.  45. 


Foot-boys,  lackeys.  ITT.  ii.  69. 

Forged,  counterfeit ;  IV.  i.  102. 

Forlorn,  utterly  wretched,  re- 
ferring to  former  wretched- 
ness (Collier  MS.,  "for- 
borne ")  ;  I.  ii.  19. 

Forth,  forth  from,  from  out ;  I. 
ii.  54. 

Fortune,  fate;  IV.  iv.  39. 

France  his  Sivord,  France's 
sword,  i.e.,  the  sword  of  the 
King  of  France  (Rowc, 
"France's")  ',   IV.  vi.  3. 

Froissart  (Folios,  "  Froy- 
sard  ")  ;  I.  ii.  29. 

Giglot,  wanton ;  IV.  vii.  41. . 
Gimmors,     gimcracks,    curious 

contrivances    (Folios  2,  3,  4, 

"  Gimmalls")  ;  I.  ii.  41. 
Gird,  rebuke;  III.  i.  131. 
,      invest      (Folios      i.      2, 

"gyrt";    Folio    3,    ''girt"); 

III.  i.  171. 
Gleeks ;   '*  Charles    his   g.,"    i.e. 

Charles's       scoffs        (Folios, 

"  glikes  ")  ;  III.  ii.  123. 
Gloss,  specious  appearance ;  IV. 

i.  103. 
Goliases,  Goliaths ;  I.  ii.  ZZ- 
Graceless,  profligate ;  V.  iv.  14. 
Grave,     dignified     (Collier, 

"  brave")  ;  V.  i.  54. 
Grisly,  grim,  terrible ;  I.  iv.  47. 
Guardant,  guard,  sentinel ;  IV. 

vii.  9. 

Halcyon  days  (Folios  i,  2, 
"Halcyons  days"):,  calm 
days  ;  halcyon  is  the  old  name 
of  the  King-fisher.  In  Hol- 
land's  Pliny   occurs  the  fol- 


Glossary 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


lowing  illustrative  passage  : — 
"  They  lay  and  sit  about  mid- 
winter when  days  be  short- 
est; and  the  times  whiles 
they  are  broody  is  called 
Halcyon  days,  for  during 
that  season  the  sea  is  calm 
and  navigable,  especially  on 
the  coast  of  Sicily*'  (Bk.  X., 
ch.  xxxii.)  ;  I.  ii,  131. 

Hand;  "  out  of  h.,"  directly,  at 
once;  III.  ii.  102. 

Haughty,  high-spirited,  adven- 
turous ;  II.  V.  79. 

Have  with  thee,  I'll  go  with 
you;  II.  iv.  114. 

Head,  armed  force ;  I.  iv.  100. 

Heart-blood,  heart's  blood;  I. 
lii.  83. 

Heavens,  technically  the  upper 
part  of  the  stage  (overhung 
with  black  when  a  tragedy 
was  enacted)  ;  I.  i.  i. 

His;  '  his  beams '  \  its ;  1.  i.  10. 

Hungry-starved,  starved  with 
hunger ;  so  Folios  i,  2,  3 ;  Fo- 
lio 4,  '"  hungry-starved  "  ; 
R  o  w  e  ,  "  hunger-starved  " ; 
Boswell,  "hungry,  starved"; 
I.  iv.  5. 

Icarus,  the  son  of  Daedalus, 
"  sire  of  Crete,"  who,  at- 
tempting to  follow  his  fa- 
ther's example  and  fly  on 
wings,  was  drowned  in  the 
sea ;  I.  vi.  55. 

Inimanity,  ferocity;  V.  i.  13. 

Inkhorn  mate,  bookish  man 
(used  contemptuously)  ;  III. 
i.  99. 

Insulting,  exulting;  I.  ii.  138. 


Intermissive,   having  a   tempo- 
rary cessation  ;  I.  i.  88. 
Irks,  grieves ;  I.  iv.   T05. 

Juggling{tY\sy\\2ih\c)  ;  V.  iv.  68. 
Kindly,  appropriate;  III.  i.  131. 

Latter,  last  (Folio  4,  "later"; 
Pope,  "latest");  II.  v.  38. 

Lie,  dwell  (Pope,  "lyes"); 
III.  ii,  129. 

Lift,  lifted  (old  form  of  past 
tense)  ;  I.  i.  16. 

Like,  liken,  compare  (Hanmer, 
''  leave  me  to " ;  Vaughan. 
"  take  me  so")  ;  IV.  vi.  48. 

Linstock,  a  stick  to  hold  the 
gunner's  match ;  I.  iv.  56. 

Lither,  soft,  pliant;  IV.  vii.  21. 

Leaden,  laden;  II.  i.  80. 

'Long  of,  because  of  (Folios, 
"long  of");  IV.  iii.  33. 

Lowly,  brought  low,  lying  low 
(Warburton,  "  lovely  ")  ;  III. 
iii.  47. 

Lowted,  made  a  fool  of 
( Grey,  "  floiited  " ;  Nichol- 
son, "  loiter' d  "  ;  Vaughan, 
"letted")  ;  IV.  iii.  13. 

Machiavel,  used  proverbially 
for  a  crafty  politician  (here 
an  anachronism)  ;  V.  iv.  74. 

Malice,  hatred.  III.  i.  128;  en- 
mity, ill-will,  IV.  i.  108. 

Manifest,  obvious,  evident ;  I. 
iii.  ZZ- 

Mean,  moderation,  medium,  I. 
ii.  121. 

Mean,  means,  instrument ;  III. 
ii.  10. 


KING  HENRY  VI. 


Glossary 


Method;  "the  m.  of  my  pen," 
i.e.  the  order  in  which  I 
wrote  it  down  (Vaughan, 
"  thetn  off  my  pen,"  or,  "  the 
method    of    them");    III.    i. 

13- 

Mickle,  great,  much  (Theo- 
bald, "  milky  ")  ;  IV.  vi.  35. 

Minotaurs,  alluding  to  the 
monsters  in  the  Cretan  Laby- 
rinth; V.  iii.  189. 

Miscarry,  be  lost,  die ;  IV.  iii. 
16. 

Misconceived,  misjudging  one; 
V.  iv.  49. 


Munition,     ammunition;     1.     i. 

168. 
Muse,   marvel,   wonder ;    II.   ii. 

19. 

Neglection,  neglec" ;  IV.  iii.  49. 

Nephew,  used  loosely  for 
cousin  (Rowe,  "cousin"); 
II.  V.  64. 

Ncstir-like,  i.e.  like  Nestor, 
the  oldest  and  wisest  hero  be- 
fore Troy ;  II.  v.  6. 

Noble,  a  gold  coin  of  the  value 
of  six  shillings  and  eight 
pence ;  V.  iv.  23. 


From  an  original  speci  ren  of  Edward  III.'s  reig^. 


Miser,  miserable  wretch ;  V.  iv. 

7- 

Monarch  of  the  North,  Lucifer 
(as  in  Milton),  or  perhaps 
the  devil  Zimimar,  mentioned 
by  Reginald  Scot  as  "  the 
king  of  the  north  " ;  V.  iii.  6. 

Mortality,  death  ;  IV.  v.  32. 

Motion,  offer,  proposal ;  V.  i.  7. 

Mouth,  bark,  bay ;  II.  iv.  12. 

Muleters,  mule-drivers  (Rowe, 
"muleteers")  ;   III.   ii.   68. 


Nourisli,  probably  =  "  nurse  " 
(often  spelt  "  norice,"  or 
"  nurice  "  in  older  English)  ; 
Theobald  conjectured 
"  nourice,"  the  French  spell- 
ing. Steevens  states  that  a 
stew,  in  which  fish  are  pre- 
served, was  anciently  called  a 
"  nourish  "  (Pope,  "  marish," 
the  older  form  of  marsh)  ; 
I.  i.  50. 


123 


Glossary 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


Objected ;  "  well  o.,"  well  pro- 
posed ;  II.  iv.  43. 

Obloquy,  disgrace;  II.  v.  49. 

Obstacle,  a  vulgar  corruption 
of  "obstinate"  (Walker, 
"obstinate")  ;  V.  iv.  17. 

Olivers  and  Rowlands,  alluding 
to  the  two  most  famous  of 
Charlemagne's  peers ;  I.  ii. 
30. 

Order;  "  take  some  o.,"  make 
the  necessary  dispositions, 
take  measures ;  III.  ii.  126. 

Ordnance,  a  small  gun,  can- 
non; I.  iv.  15.    • 

Otherwiles,  at  other  times ;  I. 
ii.  7. 

Overpeer,  look  down  on;  I.  iv. 
II. 

Packing;    "  be    p.,"    go    away, 

make  haste ;  IV.  i.  46. 
Partaker,    confederate;    II.    iv. 

100. 
Parties,     parts,     sides     (Pope, 

"parts")  ;  V.  ii.  12. 
Party,  part,  side;  II.  iv.  ^2. 
Patronage,      maintain,       make 

good;  III.  i.  48. 
Pebble  (Folios  i,  2,  "  pccblc"; 

Folios   3,    4,   "peble")]    III. 

i.  80. 
PeeVd,      shaven      (Folios. 

"  PieVd  "  ;      Grey,      "  Pied  "  ; 

Collier,  "  Pill'd")  ;  I.  iii.  30. 
Peevish,  silly,   childish ;   II.  iv. 

76. 
Pendragon,  the  father  of  King 

Arthur;  III.  ii.  95. 
Periapts,  amulets ;    V.   iii.   2. 
Period,  end ;  IV.  ii.  17. 
Peruse,  examine;   IV.   ii.  43. 


Pitch,  height;  II.  iii.  55. 

Pitch  a  Held;  "  from  the  cus- 
tom of  planting  sharp  staves 
in  the  ground  against  the 
hostile  horse  came  the  sig- 
nification of  marshalling,  ar- 
ranging in  a  military  sense  " 
(Schmidt)  ;  III.  i.   103. 

Pithless,  without  pith,  strength- 
less  ;  II    V.   II. 

Platforms,  plans,  schemes ;  II. 
i.  77. 

Play'd,  played  the  part ;  I.  vi. 
16. 

Post,  hasten,  speed ;  V.  v.  87. 

Potter's  ivheel;  I.  v.  19.  {Cp. 
illustration.) 


From  a  figure  on  the  badge  worn  by  the 
Master  of  the  Guild  of  Potters  at 
Mayence  (c.  1600),  in  the  Londes- 
borough  collection. 

Practisants,  fellow  plotters 
(Hanmer,  "partisans")  ;  III. 
ii.  20. 

Practise,   contrive,    plot;    II.    i. 

25. 
Preferr'd,  presented ;  III.  i.  10. 
Presently,    immediately;    I.    ii. 

149. 


124/ 


KING  HENRY  VI. 


Glossary 


Pretend,  mean,  indicate  (Rowe, 

"Portend")  ;  IV.  i.  54. 
Prevented,   anticipated;    IV.    i. 

71. 

Proditor,  traitor;  I.  iii.  31. 

Proper,  handsome,  comely ;  V. 
iii.  Z7. 

Purblind,  half  blind;  II.  iv.  21. 

Pursuivants,  forerunners,  in- 
ferior heralds;  II.  v.  5. 

Puzzel,  hussy ;  I.  iv.  107. 

Pyramis,  pyramid  (Rowe, 
"pyramid")  ;  I.  vi.  21. 

Quaint,  fine,  pleasant ;  IV.  i. 
102. 

Quell,  destroy;  I.  i.  163. 

Qui  est  la  (Malone's  emenda- 
tion of  "  Che  la "  of  the 
Folios ;  Rowe,  "  Qui  va 
laf")  ;  III.  ii.  13. 

Quillets,  tricks  in  argument, 
subtleties;  II.  iv.  17. 

Quittance,     requite,     retaliate ; 

II.  i.  14. 

Raging-zvood,  raving  mad ;  IV. 
vii.  35- 

Rascal-like,  like  lean  and 
worthless  deer ;  IV.  ii.  49. 

Reflex,  let  shine,  reflect  (War- 
burton,  "reflect")  ;  V.  iv.  87. 

Regard;  "your  r. " ;  i.e.  care 
for  your  own  safety;  IV.  v. 
22. 

Reguerdon,  reward;  III,  i.  170. 

Remorse,  pity ;  V.  iv.  97. 

Repugn,  oppose ;  IV.  i.  94. 

Resolved,  convinced,   satisfied ; 

III.  iv.  20. 

Rests,  remains ;  II.  i.  75. 


Revolve  on,  be  assured  of;   I. 

ii.  91. 
Rive,       discharge        (Johnson, 

"drive";  V  a  u  g  h  a  n, 

"rain");  IV.  ii.  29. 
Rope;    "  a    rope  !    a    rope  !  "    a 

cry  often  taught  to   parrots, 

in     order     to     turn     a     joke 

against  the  passer-by ;  I.  iii. 

53- 
Ruin,  fall ;  IV.  vii.  10. 

Scruple,  doubtful  perplexity; 
V.  iii.  93. 

Secure,  unsuspecting,  confi- 
dent ;  II.  i.  II. 

Shot,  marksmen  ;  I.  iv.  53. 

Sirrah,  an  appellation  ad- 
dressed to  inferior  persons ; 
III.  i.  62. 

Smeared,  stained,  smirched 
(Vaughan,  "snared")  ;  IV. 
vii.  3. 

Solicit,  rouse,  stir  up,  vide 
Note ;  V.  iii.  190. 

Sort,  choose ;  II.  iii.  27. 

Spend,  expend,  vent;   I,  ii.   16. 

Spleen,  fire,  impetuosity;  IV. 
vi.  13. 

Stand,  withstand,  resist ;  I.  i. 
123. 

Stern;  "  chiefest  stern,"  high- 
est place ;  I.  i.  177. 

Still,  continually ;  I.  iii.  62,. 

Stomachs,  resentment ;  I.  iii. 
90. 

Subscribe,  submit,  yield ;  II.  iv. 
44. 

Szvart,  sv/arthy,  dark-complex- 
ioned :  I.  ii.  84. 

Szveeting,  a  term  of  endear- 
ment ;  III.  iii.  21. 


X2S 


Glossary 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


Taint,  tainted;  V.  iii.  183. 

Talbotitcs,  name  given  to  the 
English  in  contempt  (Theo- 
bald's emendation  of  Folios. 
"  Talhonitcs  "  ;  H  a  n  m  e  r, 
"Talhotines")  ;  III.  ii.  28. 

Tawny  coats,  coats  of  a  yellow- 
ish dark  colour,  the  usual 
livery  of  ecclesiastical  at- 
tendants ;  I.  iii.  47. 

Temper,  quality,  hardness ;  II. 
iv.  13. 

Tendering,  having  care  for 
(T  y  r  w  h  i  1 1,  "  Tending  " ; 
Beckett,  "Fending");  IV. 
vii.  10. 

Timeless,  untimely ;  V.  iv.  5. 

To,  compared  to,  to  equal ;  III. 
ii.  25. 

Tomyris,  the  Queen  of  the 
Massagetoe,  by  whom  Cyrus 
was  slain;  II.  iii.  6. 

Toy,  trifle;  IV.  i.  145. 

Traffic,  transaction;  V.  iii.  164. 

Train' d,  lured;  II.  iii.  35. 

TnMm/j/i,  tournament ;  V.  v.  31. 

Unable,  weak,  impotent ;  IV. 
V.  4. 

Unaccustom'd,  unusual,  ex- 
traordinary; III.  i.  93. 

Unavoided,  inevitable ;  IV.  v.  8. 

Unawares,  by  surprise ;  III.  ii. 

39. 
Unfallihle,     infallible,     certain 
(Rowe,   "infallible")  ;   I.   ii. 

59. 
Unkind,  unnatural ;  IV.  i.   193. 
Unready,  undressed;   II.  i.   39. 

Vail,  lower,  let  fall  (Folios  i. 
2,  "vale")  ',  V.  iii.  25. 


J^antagc,  advantage,  "  for  v." 
to  take  your  time ;  IV.  v.  28. 

Vaward,  vanguard ;  Folios, 
"  Vauward  " ;  Theobald  conj. 
"  rercward"  (but  probably 
"  vaward  "  :=  "  in  the  front 
line  of  his  own  troop");  I. 
i.  132. 

Walloon,  a  native  of  the  bor- 
der-country between  the 
Netherlands  and  France 
(Folios  I,  2,  "  Wallon")  ;  I. 

i.  137- 
Warrantize,  surety;  I.  iii.  13. 
JVashford,    an    old    name    of 

Wexford,  in  Ireland ;  IV.  vii. 

63-  _ 
Weening,    deeming,    thinking ; 

II.  V.  88. 
Where,     whereas     (Pope, 

"While");  V.  V.  47. 
Will'd,  commanded ;  I.  iii.  10. 
Winchester  goose,  a  cant  term 

for  a  swelling  in  the  groin, 

the   result   of   disease ;   I.   iii. 

53.^ 

Witting,  knowing;  II.  v.   16. 

Wont,  are  wont,  accustomed 
(Folios,  "Went";  Vaughan, 
"Won";  H  a  n  m  e  r, 

"  Watch  ")  ;  I.  iv.  10. 

Wooden;  "a  w.  thing.''  "an 
awkward  business,  not  likely 
to  succeed"  (Steevens)  ;  V. 
iii.  89. 

Worthless,  unworthy;  IV.  iv. 
21. 

Wot,  know;  IV.  vi.  32. 

Writhled,  wrinkled;  II.  iii.  23. 

Yield,  admit ;  II.  iv.  42. 


26 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Notes 

Critical  Notes. 

BY   ISRAEL   GOLLANCZ. 

I.  i.  3.  '  crystal,'  unnecessarily  changed  by  Hanmer  to  '  crisped  ' ; 
Warbiirton,  '  cristed  '  or  '  crested  ' ;  Roderick,  '  tristful  tresses  in 
the  sky.'  or  '  tresses  in  the  crystal  sky.' 

I.  \.' 6.  'King  Henry  the  Fifth';  Pope,  'Henry  the  Fifth'; 
Walker,  '  King  Henry  Fifth ' ;  Pope's  reading  has  been  generally 
followed  by  modern  editors. 

I.  i.  12.  '  wrathful ' ;  Rowe,  '  awful.' 

I.  i.  24.  'glory's';  Folios,  'Glories.' 

I.  i.  27.  'By  magic  verses  have  contrived  his  end';  alluding  to 
the  old  notion  "  that  life  might  be  taken  away  by  metrical 
charms"  (Johnson).  Folios  2,  3,  4,  'Verse';  Pope,  'verse  have 
thus.' 

I.  i.  33.  'had  not';  Vaughan  proposed  'had  but'  (but  cp.  lines 

41-43). 

I.  i.  49.  'moist';  so  Folios  2,  3.  4;  Folio  i,  '  moistned.' 

I.  i.  56.  'or  bright  ';  various  attempts  have  been  made  to 

fill  up  the  blank,  which  some  editors  explain  as  due  to  the  inability 
of  the  compositor  to  read  the  name  in  the  MS. ;  Francis  Drake, 
Berenice,  Cassiopeia,  Alexander,  etc.,  have  been  suggested. 
Probably  the  speech  is  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  the  mes- 
senger. 

I.  i.  60.  '  Rheinis';  Folios,  '  Rkeimes';  evidently  intended  as  a 
dissyllable;  but  Capell's  ' Rheims,  Roan,'  derives  some  support 
from  the  fact  that  Roan,  i.e.  Rouen,  is  mentioned  by  Gloucester  m 
line  65  (Cambridge  ed.). 

I.  i.  65.  'Rouen';  Folio  i,  'Roan.' 

I.  i.  76.  'A  third';  Folios  2,  3,  4,  'A  third  man';  Walker,  'A 
third  one';  Delius,  'A  third  thinketh';  Keightley,  'A  third  thinks 
that':;  Dyce,  'And  a  third  thinks,'  etc.  Surely  a  simpler  solution 
of  the  difficulty  is  to  read  '  third '  as  a  dissyllable  with  a  trilled  r. 

I.  i.  78.  'Awake,  awake';  Folio  2,  'Awake,  azvay.' 

I.  i.  83.  'their';  Theobald's  emendation;  Folios,  'her';  Anon, 
conj.,  '  our.' 

127 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

I,  i,  94.  '  Reignicr';  Rowe's  emendation  of  'Reynold'  of  the 
Folios. 

I.  i.  95.  'The  Duke  of  Alengon';  Walker  omits  'of/  to  im- 
prove the  rhythm  of  the  line. 

I.  i.  96.  '  croivned ' ;  Rowe's  emendation  ;  '  crozvn'd,'  the  reading 
of  the  Folios. 

I.  i.  124.  'flezv!  Rowe's  correction;  Folios,  'slew.' 

I.  i.  128.  'A  Talbot!  a  Talbot!  cried  out  amain.'  The  line  has 
been  variously  emended  as  being  defective,  metrically.  Pone,  'A 
Talbot!  Talbot!  cried'',  Seymour,  'A  Talbot!  cried,  a  Talbot!'', 
Vaughan,  'Talbot!  a  Talbot!  cried.'  If,  however,  'cried'  is  read 
as  a  dissyllable,  the  movement  of  the  line  is  parallel  to  that  of 
'  prevent  it,  resist  it,  let  it  not  be  so,'  in  Richard  II.  iv.,  and  no  cor- 
rection seems  necessary — 

A  Talbot!  \  A  Talbot!  \  cri  \  ed  out  \  amain  |  . 

I.  i.  131.  'Sir  John  Fastolfe';  Theobald's  emendation  here  and 
elsewhere  of  Folios,  'Sir  John  Falstaffe';  but  in  all  probability 
Falstaff  was  the  popular  form  of  the  name,  and  it  is  questionable 
whether  the  text  should  be  altered  here.  "  He  was  a  lieutenant- 
general,  deputy  regent  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  in  Normandy,  and 
a  Knight  of  the  Garter." 

I.  i.  176.  'steal,'  Mason's  conjecture;  Folio,  'send';  Keightley, 
'fetch: 

I.  ii.  I.  'Mars  his  true  moving  ' ;  cp.  "  You  are  as  ignorant  in  the- 
true  movings  of  my  muse  as  the  astronomers  ape  in  the  true  mov- 
ings  of  Mars,  which  to  this  day  they  could  not  attain  to,"  quoted 
by  Steevens  from  one  of  Nash's  prefaces  to  '  Gabriel  Harvey's 
Hunt's  Up,'  1596.  Kepler's  work  on  Mars  {Comment,  de  Motibus 
Stcllce  Martis)  was  published  in  1609. 

I.  ii.  13.  'live';  Capell,  'sit';  Walker,  'lie.' 

I.  ii.  30.  '  bred ' ;  Folios,  '  breed.' 

I.  ii.  56.  'nine  sibyls  of  old  Rome.'  The  number  of  the  Sibyls 
is  variously  given  as  three,  four,  seven,  ten;  possibly  the  'nine'  is 
liere  due  to  confusion  with  the  nine  Sibylline  books. 

I.  ii.  86.  'which  you  see,'  reading  of  Folios  2,  3,  4;  Folio  i, 
'  wliich  you  may  see.' 

I.  ii.  99.  '  iive  ' ;  Folios,  '  fine.' 

I.  ii.  loi.  'Out  of  a  great  deal  of  old  iron';  Dyce's  conjecture, 
'  out  of  a  deal  old  iron,'  seems  the  best  of  the  emendations  pro- 
posed. 

I.  ii.  103.  '  ne'er  Hy  from  a  man ' ;  so  Folio  i ;  Folios  2,  3,  4, 

128 


KING  HENRY  VI. 


Notes 


' ne're  Uye  no  man')  Collier  MS.,  'ne'er  -fly  from  no  man';  there 
was  probably  some  jingle  intended: — 

Char.  Then  come,  o'  God's  name;  I  fear  no  woman. 
Puc.  And  while  I  live,  I'll  ne'er  Uy  from  no  man. 
I.  ii.  io8.  '  thy  desire '  =  desire  for  thee. 

I.  ii.  131.  'Expect  Saint  Martin's  summer';  "expect  prosperity 
after  misfortune,  like  fair  weather  at  Martlemas,  after  winter  has 
begun"  (Johnson).     St.  Martin's  Day  is  November  nth. 

I.  ii.  138.  '  That  proud  insulting  ship,  Which  Cccsar  and  his  for- 
tune bare  at  once,'  evidently  suggested  by  the  following  passage  in 
North's  translation  of  Plutarch's  "  Life  of  Caesar  "  : — ''  Caesar 
hearing  that,  straight  discovered  himself  unto  the  master  of 
the  pynnace,  who  at  first  was  amazed  when  he  saw  him ;  but 
CaL'sar,  then  taking  him  by  the  hand,  said  unto  him,  good  fellow, 
be  of  good  cheer,  .  .  .  and  fear  not,  for  thou  hast  Ccesar  and  his 
fortune  with  thee." 

I.  ii.  140.  'Mahomet  inspired  with  a  dove';  cp.  "he  (Ma- 
homet) used  to  feed  (a  dove)  with  wheat  out  of  his  ear;  which 
dove,  when  it  was  hungry,  lighted  on  Mahomet's  shoulder,  and 
thrust  its  bill  in  to  find  its  breakfast ;  Mahomet  persuading  the 
rude  and  simple  Arabians  that  it  was  the  Holy  Ghost  that  gave 
him  advice'"  (Raleigh's  "History  of  the  World"),  I.  i.  vi. 

I.  ii.  143.  'Saint  Philip's*  daughters' ;  "the  four  daughters  of 
Philip  mentioned  in  the  ActsV  (Hanmer). 

I.    ii.     145.    '  reverently    worship ' ; 
Capell,     '  ever     zvorship  ' ;     Steevens, 
'reverence,  worship';   Dyce    (Collier* 
MS.),    'reverent   zvorship';    the   last 
seems  the  only  plausible  reading. 

I.  ii.  148.  '  Orleans'  Folios,  '  Or- 
leance  ' ;  Capell,  '  hence' 

I.  iii.  4.  '  'tis  Gloucester ' ;  Pope's 
emendation;  Folios,  ''tis  Gloster'; 
Steevens,  'it  is  Gloster'  etc.;  cp.  1. 
62  below,  where  Folios  similarly 
read  '  Gloster.' 

I.  iii.  29.  'ambitious  Humphry' ; 
Folio  4,  'ambition' ;  'Humphry,' 
Theobald's  emendation ;  Folio  i. 
'  Vmpheir ' ;  Folios  2,  3,  4,  '  Umpire.' 
I.  iii.  35.  '  indulgence  to  sin  ' ;  "  the 
public  stews  were  formerly  under  the 


Th-  Duke  of  Gloster. 
From  a  XVIIth  century  engrav- 
ing, the  original  of  which  was  at 
that  time  in  a  painted  window 
at  Greenwich. 


129 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

jurisdiction  of  the  bishop  of  Winchester"   (Pope). 

I.  iii.  72.  '  as  e'er  thou  canst;  Cry ' ;  FoHos,  '  as  e'er  thou 
canst,  cry'-,  Collier  MS.,  'as  thou  canst  cry.' 

I.  iii.  82.  '  cost,'  Folios  2,  3,  4,  '  dcare  cost.' 

I.  iii,  88.  'it  ere  long'',  so  Folios  i,  2;  Folios  3,  4,  'it  e're  he 
7o«g ■* ;»Capell,  'it,  ere't  he  long';  Collier  MS.,  'it  off,  ere  long'; 
Orson,  '  at  it.' 

I.  iv.  22.  ''  on  tJie  turrets/  Folios,  '  in  an  upper  chamber  of  a 
tower'  (Malone). 

I.  iv.  2y.  'Duke';  Theobald's  emendation  of  ' Earle'  of  the 
Folios. 

I.  iv.  ^^.  '  so  vile-esteem'd ' ;  Pope,  '  so  vilde  esteentd ' ;  Folios, 
'  so  pil'd  estecm'd  ' ;  Capell,  '  so  pill'd  cstccm'd ' ;  Mason,  '  so  ill- 
esteeni'd/  etc. 

L  iv.  95.  'like  thee,  Nero,'  Malone;  Folio  i,  'like  thee';  Folio 
2,  'Nero  like  will';  Folios  3,  4,  'Nero  like,  will';  Pope,  'Nero- 
like/ etc. 

I.  iv.  loi.  Joan  la  Puccllc';  Folios,  'Joan  de  Puacl'  (and  else- 
where). 

I.  V.  6.  'Blood  will  I  draw  on  thee,  thou  art  a  zvitch';  "the 
superstition  of  those  times  taught  that  he  that  could  draw  the 
witch's  blood  was  free  from  her  power  "  (Johnson). 

I.  V.  21.  'like  Hannibal!  who,  in  order  to  escape,  devised  the 
stratagem  of  fixing  lighted  twigs  to  the  horns  of  oxen.  {Cp.  Livy, 
xxii.  16.) 

I.  V.  30.  '  treacherous  from  ' ;  so  Folios  3,  4 ;  Folios  t,  2, '  treach- 
.erous  from';  Pope,  '  tim'rous  from.' 

I.  vi.  2.  'English'  (trisyllabic),  so  Folio  i;  Folios  2,  3,  4, 
'  English  wolves ' ;  Staunton,  '  English  dogs.' 

I.  vi.  6.  'Adonis'  gardens.'  "The  proverb  alluded  to  seems  al- 
ways to  have  been  used  in  a  bad  sense,  for  things  which  make  a 
fair  show  for  a  few  days,  and  then  wither  away ;  but  the  author 
of  this  play,  desirous  of  making  a  show  of  his  learning,  without 
considering  its  propriety,  has  made,  the  Dauphin  apply  it  as  an 
encomium"  (Blakeway).  Cp.  Faerie  Queen,  III.  vi.  29;  Folio  i, 
'  Garden.' 

I.  vi.  22.  '  Than  Rhodope's  or  Memphis','  Hanmer's  emendation; 
Folios,  'or  Memphis';  (Tapell's  'of  Memphis'  has  been  generally 
adopted.  Pliny,  writing  of  the  pyramids  near  Memphis,  records 
that  "  the  fairest  and  most  commended  for  workmanship  was  built 
at  the  cost  and  charges  of  one  Rhodope,  a  verie  strumpet." 

I.  vi.  25.  '  the  rich-jewel'd  coffer  of  Darius ' ;   referred  to  by 

130 


KING  HENRY  VI. 


Notes 


Plutarch  in  his  "Life  of  Alexander,"  as  the  "  preciousest  thing. 
and  the  richest  that  was  gotten  of  all  spoyls  and  riches,  taken  at 
the  overthrow  of  Darius  ...  he  said  he  would  put  the  Iliads 
of  Homer  into  it,  as  the  worthiest  thing." 

II.  i.  8.  '  redoubted  Burgundy  ' ;  Duke  of  Burgundy,  surnamed 
Philip  the  Good. 

II.  i.  29.  'all  together';  Rowe's  emendation  of 
Folios. 

II.  i.  40.  '  ay,  and  glad  ' ;   Folios,  '  I  and  glad  ' ;   Pope,  '  /  am 
glad.'  ^ 

II.  i.  63.  'your  quarters' ;   'your 
'  our ' ;  '  quarters  ' ;  so  Folios  i.  2,  3  : 

II.  ii.  20.  'Arc,'  Rowe's  emendation  of  'Acre'  of  Folios. 

II.     ii.     38.    '  Auvergne ' ;     Rowe's     emendation     of     Folio     i, 
'Ouergne';  Folios  2,  3,  '  Auergnc' ;  Folio  4,  '  Avergne.' 

II.  iii.  49.  '  /  substance ' ;  Vaughan  proposed  to  read,  7  shadozv, 
aye  and  substance.' 

II.  iv.  6.  'in  the  error' \  Johnson   (adopted  by  Capell),  '  i'  the 
right' ;  Hudson,  'in  error.' 


altogether  '  of 


so  Folio   I ;   Folios  2,  3, 
Folio  4,  '  Quarter: 


The  Temple  Garden. 
From  Aggas's  woodcut  Ma_p  0/  London,  preserved  in  Guildhall. 

131 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

II.  iv.  83.  '  His  grandfather  was  Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence ' ;  this 
is  erroneous ;  Duke  Lionel  was  his  maternal  great-great-grand- 
father. 

11.  iv.  91.  'executed' ;  Pope,  'headed';  Steevens,  'execute' 
(probably  to  be  read  as  a  dissyllable). 

II.  iv.  117.  'wiped'  \  Folios  2,  3,  4,  '  wip't' ;  Folio  i,  '  whipt.' 

II.  iv.  127.  'a  thousand';  Collier  MS.,  'Ten  thousand.' 

II.  iv.  132.  'gentle  sir';  so  Folios  2,  3,  4;  Folio  i,  'gentle.' 
Anon  conj.  'gentlemen.' 

11.  iv.  The  Temple  Garden.     (Cp.  illustration.) 

II.  V.  '  enter  Mortimer ' ;  Edmund  Mortimer  served  under 
Henry  V.  in  1422,  and  died  in  his  castle  in  Ireland  in  1424. 

II.  V.  6.  'an  age  of  care';  Collier  MS.,  'a  cage  of  care.' 

II.  V.  74.  'For  by  my  mother  I  derived  am';  'mother'  should 
strictly  be  '  grandmother,'  i.e.  his  father's  mother. 

II.  V.  113.  'fair  he  all';  Theobald,  'fair  befal.' 

II.  V.  123.  '  choked  with  ambition  of  the  meaner  sort,'  i.e. 
"  shifted  by  the  ambition  of  those  whose  right  to  the  crown  was 
inferior  to  his  own  "  (Clarke). 

II.  V.  129,  'ill  the  advantage';  'ill,'  Theobald's  emendation  of 
'  zuiW  of  the  Folios.     Collier  MS.,  'will  the  advancer.' 

III.  i.  53.  'Ay,  see';  Rowe's  emendation  of  ' /,  see'  of  the 
Folios  ;  Hanmer,  '  I  'II  see.' 

III.  i.  142.  '  kind ' ;  Pope,  '  gentle ' ;  Capell,  '  kind,  kind ' ;  Collier 
MS.,  'and  kind';  probably  the  line  should  be  read: — 

"  O  loving  ihicle.   \\  Kind  Duke  \  of  Gloucester." 

III.  i.  199.  'lose,'  should  lose;  Folio  i.  'loose';  Folios  2,  3,  4, 
'  should  lose.' 

III.  ii.  14.  ' Paysans,  pauvres  gens  de  France' ;  Rowe's  emenda- 
tion of  Folios,  '  Peasauns  la  pouure,'  etc. 

III.  ii.  40.  '  the  pride  ' ;  Theobald,  '  the  prise  ' ;  Hanmer,  '  being 
prize ' ;  Jackson,  '  the  bride  ' ;  Vaughan,  '  the  gripe.' 

HI.  ii.  52.  "all  despite';  Collier  MS.,  'hell's  despite.' 

HI.  ii.  ys-  'God  be  wi'  you';  Rowe's  emendation  of  Folios, 
'  God  b'  uy.' 

HI.  ii.  118.  'and  martial';  Collier  MS.,  'and  matchless' ; 
Vaughan,  '  unmatchable.' 

HI.  iii.  85.  'Done  like  a  Frenchman:  turn,  and  turn  again'; 
"the  inconstancy  of  the  French  was  always  a  subject  of  satire,  I 
have  read  a  dissertation  to  prove  that  the  index  of  the  wind  upon 

132 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Notes 

our  steeples  was  made  in  form  of  a  cock  to  ridicule  the  French 
for  their  frequent  changes"    (Johnson). 

III.  iv.  i8.  '/  do  remember' ;  "Henry  was.  but  nine  months 
old  when  his  father  died,  and  never  even  saw  him  "  (Malone). 

III.  iv.  38.  '  the  lazv  of  arms  is  such ' ;  "By  the  ancient  law 
before  the  Conquest,  fighting  in  the  king's  palace,  or  before  the 
king's  judges,  was  punished  with  death.  And  by  Statute  Z3, 
Henry  VIII.,  malicious  striking  in  the  king's  palace,  whereby 
blood  is  drawn,  is  punishable  by  perpetual  imprisonment  and,  fine 
at  the  king's  pleasure,  and  also  with  the  loss  of  the  offender's 
right  hand  "   (Blackstone). 

IV.  i.  19,  'at  the  battle  of  Patay  ' ;  Capell's  emendation  (adopted 
by  Malone)  of  '  Poictiers'  of  the  Folios.  The  battle  of  Poictiers 
was  fought  1357;  the  date  of  the  present  scene  is  1428. 

IV.  i.  180.  '  And  if  I  wist  he  did'  Capell ;  Folios,  '  And  if  I  wish 
he  did';  Rowe,  'And  if  I  wish  he  did. — ';  Theobald  (in  text), 
'An  if  I  zuis  lie  did. — ' ',  (in  note),  'And  if  I  wis,  he  did. — ' ; 
Johnson,  'And  if — /  wish — he  did — '  or 'And  if  he  did, — /  wish — ' ; , 
Steevens,  'And,  if  I  wist,  he  did, — .' 

IV.  ii.  14.  '  their  love  ';  Hanmer,  '  our  love.* 

IV.  ii.  22.  '  war ' ;  Capell,  '  death.' 

IV.  ii.  26.  '  spoil ' ',  Vaughan,  '  steel.' 

IV.  iii.  51.  '  That  ever  living  man  of  memory'  i.e.  that  overman 
of  living  memory.     Lettsom,  '  man  of  ever-living.' 

IV.  iv.  16.  '  legions'  Rowe's  emendation  of  Folios  ' Regions.' 

IV.  iv.  19.  '  in  advantage  lingering  ' ;  Staunton,  '  in  disadvantage 
ling'ring ' ;  Lettsom,  '  m  disvantage  lingering ' ;  Vaughan,  '  disad- 
vantage ling'ring.'  Johnson  explains  the  phrase,  "  Protracting  his 
resistance  by  the  advantage  of  a  strong  post " ;  Malone,  "  Endeav- 
ouring by  every  means,  with  advantage  to  himself,  to  linger  out 
the  action." 

IV.  iv.  31.  'host';  so  Folios  3,  4;  Folios  i,  2,  '  hoast';  Theo- 
bald's conjecture  (adopted  by  Hanmer),  'horse/ 

IV.  iv.  42.  'rescue:  he  is';  Folios  i,  2,  'rescue,  he  is';  Folios 
3,  4,  'rescue,  if  he  is';  Rowe  (ed.  i),  'rescue,  if  he's';  (ed.  2), 
'  rescue,  he  's';  Pope,  '  rescue  now,  he 's.' 

IV.  V.  39.  'shame';  Walker,  ' sham'd.' 

IV.  vi.  44.  '  On  that  advantage,'  so  the  Folios ;  Tljeobald  con- 
jectured 'On  that  bad  vantage,'  but  subsequently  read,  'Out  on 
that  vantage';  Hanmer,  'Oh!  what  advantage';  Vaughan,  'Oh 
hated  vantage! '  etc. 

133 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

IV.  vii.  3. 

'Triumphant  Death,  smeai-'d  zvith  captivity. 
Young  Talbot's  valour  makes  me  smile  at  tJiee'; 

the  phrase  ' smear' d  with  captivity'  has  not  been  clearly  ex- 
plained; at  first  sight  it  is  difficult  to  determine  its  exact  force, 
and  whether  the  words  refer  to  Death  or  to  the  speaker  (Talbot). 
Leo  explains  that  '  Death  is  supposed  to  go  triumphantly  over  the 
battle  field,  smeared  with  the  terrible  aspect  of  captivity ' ;  but 
possibly  the  reference  is  to  the  Christian  belief  that  Christ  took 
Death  captive.  Death  the  Victor  is,  from  this  point  of  view, 
Death  the  Victim;  it  is.  as  it  were,  unconsciousiy  smeared  {i.e. 
smirched)  with  the  wretched  (not  the  terrible)  aspect  of  captivity. 
IV.  vii.  60.  '  But  where 's' ;  so  Folios  ;  Rowe,  '  Where  is ' ;  Lett- 
som  proposed  'First,  where 's.' 

IV.  vii.  70.  'Henry';  so  Folio  i;  Folios  2,  3,  4,  'our  King 
Henry.'     The  line  is  probably  to  be  read : — 

'  Great  mareshal  to  Henery  the  Sixth.' 

V.  i.  17.  'Knit,'  the  reading  of  the  Folios;  Pope  first  suggested 
'  kin,'  which  was  also  adopted  by  Theobald.  Hanmer,  Warburton, 
and  Johnson;  Capell  restored  'knit'  which  was  adopted  by 
Steevens  and  Malone.  The  Cambridge  editions  see  in  'knit'  "a 
conceit  suggested  by  the  *  Knot  of  amity  '  in  the  preceding  line." 

V.  i.  21.  'Marriage,  uncle!  alas,  my  years  are  young!'  Pope 
reads,  'Marriage,  alas!  my  years  are  yet  too  young';  Capell, 
'  Marriage,  good  uncle!  alas,  my  years  are  young  ' ;  Walker,  '  Mar- 
riage, uncle,  'las  my  years  are  young.' 

V.  i.  21.  'My  years  are  young';  "His  majesty  was,  however, 
twenty-four  years  old  "  (Malone). 

V.  i.  49.  'where  inshipp'd' ;  the  reading  of  Folio  4;  Folios  i,  2, 
'wherein  ship'd';  Folio  3,  'wherein  shipp'd.' 

V.  iii.  10.  'speedy  and  quick';  Pope,  'speedy  quick';  Walker, 
'  speed  and  quick.'     '  argues ' ;  Vaughan,  '  urges.' 

V.  iii.  10.  '  cull'd';  Collier  MS..  '  call'd.' 

V.  iii.  II.  'regions';  Folios,  'Regions' ;  Warburton.  'legions.' 

V.  iii.  48,  49.  'I  kiss  .  .  .  side';  Capell  and  other  editors 
transpose  these  lines : — '  And  lay  .  .  .  side.  I  kiss  .  .  .  [kiss- 
ing her  hand]    .    .    .    peace.' 

V.  iii.  57.  '  Keeping  them  prisoner  underneath  her  zvings ' ; 
Folios  I,  2,  'prisoner';  Folios  3,  4,  'prisoners';  Vaughan,  ' pris- 

134 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Notes 

oned';  'her  wings'  Folios  3,  4;  Folio  i,  'his  zvings';  Folio  2, 
'  hir  wings ' ;  Vaughan,  '  its  wings.' 

V.  iii.  63.  'Twinkling  another  counterfeited  beam';  Vaughan, 
'Kindling  another  counterfeited  beam';  or  'Twinkling  in  other 
counterfeited  beams.' 

V.  iii.  68.  'Hast  not  a  tongue?  is  she  not  here?'  Anon,  conj., 
'tongue  to  speak f  'here?';  Folio  i,  'heere?';  Folios  2,  3,  4, 
' heere  thy  prisoner';  Keightley,  'here  alone';  Lettsom,  'here  in 
place,'  or  'here  beside  thee';  Vaughan.  'present  here.' 

V.  iii.  71.  'makes  the  senses  rough';  so  the  Folios;  Hanmer, 
'makes  the  senses  crouch';  Capell,  'make  .  .  .  crouch';  Jack- 
son, 'makes  the  senses  touch';  Collier  MS.,  'mocks  the  sense  of 
touch.' 

V.  iii.  78,79.  'She's  beautiful,  and  tJierefore  to  be  woo'd,'  etc. 
These  lines  were  evidently  proverbial ;  cp.  Richard  III.,  I.  ii.  228, 
230,  and  Titus  Andronicus,  II.  i.  82,  83. 

V.  iii.  108.  'Lady';  Capell,  'Nay,  hear  me,  lady';  Collier  MS., 
'Lady,  pray  tell  me';  Lettsom,  'Lady,  szveet  lady';  Dyce,  '/ 
prithee,  lady.' 

V.  iii.  145.  'And  here  I  will  expect  thy  coming';  Dyce,  'here, 
my  lord';  Folio  4,  'coming';  Folios  i,  2,  3,  '  comming' ;  Capell, 
'coming,  Reignier';  Collier  MS.,  'coming  down';  Anon,  conj., 
'coming,  king';  Anon,  conj.,  'communing.' 

V.  iii.  154.  'country' ;  so  the  Folios;  Theobald,  'counties' ; 
Capell, '  countries ' ;  Malone,  '  county.' 

V.  iii.  179.  'modestly' ;  Folio  i,  '  modestie.' 

V.  iii.  192.  'And  natural';  Perring,  'Maid-natural' ;  Capell, 
'And';  Folio  i,  'Mad';  Folios  2,  3,  4,  'Made';  Pope,  'Her'; 
Collier,  "Mid';  Jackson  conj.  'Man';  Barry,  'Made';  Vaughan, 
'  Mild: 

V.  iv.  2>7-  'Not  me  begotten';  Anon,  conj.,  'Me,  not  begotten'; 
Malone,  'Not  one  begotten';  Anon  conj.,  'Not  mean-begotten.' 

V.  iv.  49.  'No,  misconceived! '  so  Steevens;  Folios,  i.  2,  3, 
'  IVo  misconceived,'  Folio  4,  'no  misconceived  Joan';  Capell,  'No, 
misconceivers';  Vaughan,  'No,  misconceited! ' 

V.  iv.  121.  '  Poison'd' ;  Theobald,  '  prison' d.' 

V.  iv.  150.  '  Stand' st  thou  aloof  upon  comparison?'  "Do  you 
stand  to  compare  your  present  state,  a  state  which  you  have 
neither  right  nor  power  to  maintain,  with  the  terms  which  we 
offer?  "  (Johnson). 

V.  V.  39.  '  Yes,  my  lord ' ;  so  Folio  i ;  Folios  2,  3,  4,  '  Yes,  my 
good  lord';  Anon,  conj.,  'Yes,  yes,  my  lord,'  or  'Why,  yes,  my 

135 


Notes 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


lord';  Dyce,  '  O,  yes,  my  lord';  Vaughan,  'Yes,  my  lord — 
more.' 

V.  V,  55.  '  Marriage ' ;  so  Folio  i ;  Folios  2,  3,  4,  read  '  But 
marriage  ' ;  perhaps  we  should  read  '  marriage.' 

V.  V.  64.  '  bringeth,'  the  reading  of  Folio  i  ;  Folios  2,  3,  4, 
'  hrmgeth  forth';  perhaps  the  difficulty  of  the  line  is  due  to  the 
quadrisyllabic  nature  of  the  word  '  contrary  '  =  '  conterary.' 

V.  V.  90.  '  To  cross' ;  Walker,  '  Across.' 


Joan  la  Pucelle  (I.  iv.  loi,  etc. 
From  the  painting  in  the  Town  Hail  of  Rouen. 


136 


KING  HENRY  VI. 


Explanatory  Notes. 

The  Explanatory  Notes  in  this  edition  have  been  specially  selected  and 
adapted,  with  emendations  after  the  latest  and  best  authorities,  from  the 
most  eminent  Shakespearian  scholars  and  commentators,  including  Johnson, 
Malone,  Steevens,  Singer,  Dyce,  Hudson,  White,  Furness,  Dowden,  and 
others.  This  method,  here  introduced  for  the  first  time,  provides  the  best 
annotation  of  Shakespeare  ever  embraced  in  a  single  edition. 


ACT  FIRST. 
Scene  I. 

[1-7.]  These  opening  lines — which  Coleridge  more  than  inti- 
mates that  only  asinine  stupidity  could  attribute  to  Shakespeare — 
might,  as  well  as  other  passages  in  the  three  parts  of  Henry  VI., 
have  provoked  from  Greene  taunts  of  the  author's  ability  "to 
bumbast  out  a  blanke  verse,"  and  here  at  the  outset  we  give  the 
well-known  literary  curiosity  left  by  the  great  Poet's  fellow 
dramatist : — 

To  those  Gentlemen,  his  Quondam  acquaintance,  that  spend  their 

wits  in  making  Plaics,  R.  G.  zvisheth  a  better  exercise, 

and  wisdom  to  prevent  his  extremities. 

Thou  famous  gracer  of  Tragedians,  .  .  .  young  Juvenall,  that 
byting  Satyrist,  .  .  .  and  thou  no  less  deserving  than  the  other 
two.  .  .  .  Base-minded  men  al  three  of  you,  if  by  my  miserie  ye 
be  not  warned,  for  unto  none  of  you  (like  me)  sought  those  burres 
to  cleave:  those  Puppets  (I  mean)  that  speake  from  our  mouths, 
those  anticks  garnisht  in  our  colours.  Is  it  not  strange  that  I,  to 
whom  they  all  have  been  beholding;  is  it  not  like  that  you,  to 
whom  they  all  have  been  beholding,  shall  (were  ye  in  that  case 
that  I  am  now)  be  both  at  once  of  them  forsaken?  Yes,  trust 
them  not :  for  there  is  an  upstart  Crow,  beautified  with  our 
feathers,  that  with  his  Tygers  heart  wrapt  in  a  Players  hide, 
supposes  he  is  as  well  able  to  bumbast  out  a  blanke  verse  as  the 
best  of  you;  and  being  an  absolute  Johannes  fac  totum,  is  in  his 
own  conceit  the  onely  Shake-scene  in  a  countrie.     O  that  I  might 

137 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

intreate  your  rare  wits  to  be  imployed  in  more  profitable  courses : 
and  let  these  Apes  imitate  your  past  excellence,  and  never  more 
acquaint  them  with  your  admired  inventions. 

— Greene's  Groatsworth  of  Wit,  bought  zvitli  a  Million  of 
Repentance  {written  before  his  death  [1592],  and 
published  at  his  dying  request). 

Brandes  says  that  "  the  allusion  to  Shakespeare's  name  is  un- 
equivocal, and  the  words  about  the  tiger's  heart  point  to  the 
outburst.  '  O  Tyger's  hart  wrapt  in  a  serpents  hide !  '  which  is 
found  in  two  places :  first  in  the  play  called  The  True  Tragedie  of 
Richard  Duke  of  Yorke,  and  the  Death  of  the  good  King  Henrie 
the  Sixt,  and  then  (with  '  womans  '  substituted  for  *  serpents  '),  in 
the  third  part  of  King  Henry  VI.,  founded  on  the  True  Tragedie, 
and  attributed  to  Shakespeare.  It  is  preposterous  to  interpret  this 
passage  as  an  attack  upon  Shakespeare  in  his  quality  as  an  actor; 
Greene's  words,  beyond  all  doubt,  convey  an  accusation  of  literary 
dishonesty.  Everything  points  to  the  belief  that  Greene  and 
Marlowe  had  collaborated  in  the  older  play,  but  that  the  former 
saw  with  disgust  the  success  achieved  by  Shakespeare's  adapta- 
tion of  their  text." 

I.  Hung  be  the  heavens  with  black  : — The  upper  part  of  the 
stage  was  in  Shakespeare's  time  technically  called  the  heavens, 
and  was  used  to  be  hung  with  black  when  tragedies  were  per- 
formed. 

3.  your  crystal  tresses : — The  epithet  crystal  was  often  applied 
to  comets  by  the  old  writers.  So  in  a  sonnet  by  Lord  Sterline, 
1604:    "  Whenas  those  crystal  comets  whiles  appear." 

17.  [Exeter.]  Thomas  Beaufort,  Duke  of  Exeter,  was  son  to 
John  of  Ghent  by  Catharine  Swynford ;  born  out  of  wedlock,  but 
legitimated  along  with  three  other  children  in  the  time  of  Richard 
II.  Of  course  therefore  he  was  great-uncle  to  King  Henry  VI. 
At  the  death  of  Henry  V.  he  was  appointed  governor  of  the  infant 
king,  which  office  he  held  till  his  death  in  1425.  The  dramatist, 
however,  prolongs  his  life  till  1444,  the  period  of  Part  I.  Hol- 
inshed  calls  him  "  a  right  sage  and  discreet  counsellor."  The 
name  Beaufort  was  derived  from  the  place  of  his  birth,  which  was 
Beaufort  Castle  in  France. 

28.  {Winchester.]  Henry  Beaufort,  known  in  history  as  "the 
great  Bishop  of  Winchester."  was  brother  to  the  Duke  of  Exeter. 
At  this  time  he  held  the  office  of  chancellor,  and  was  associated 
with  Exeter  in  the  governing  of  the  infant  sovereign.     The  quar- 

138 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Notes 

rel  between  him  and  his  nephew,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  did  not 
break  out  till  1425,  though  it  had  been  brewing  in  secret  for  some 
time.  In  1427  he  was  adv.inced  by  Pope  Martin  to  the  office  of 
cardinal.     The  matter  is  related  by  Holinshed. 

Scene  II. 

I  et  seq.  In  the  second  Scene  Shakespeare  brings  us  at  once 
into  the  heart  of  the  extraordinary  circumstances  in  which  the 
final  discomfiture  of  the  English  commenced — the  appearance  of 
Joan  of  Arc  before  Orleans,  and  the  marvellous  success  which 
attended  that  appearance.  There  was  a  real  interval  of  nearly 
seven  years  between  the  events  of  the  first  Scene  and  of  the 
second.  Henry  V.  died  on  the  31st  of  August,  1422;  Joan  of  Arc 
entered  Orleans  in  April,  1429.  Here,  then,  begins  fhe  true 
dramatic  action  of  this  play.  The  preceding  Scene  is  in  the 
nature  of  a  prologue,  and  is  the  keynote  of  what  is  to  follow. 

30.  Olivers  and  Roivlands : — These  were  two  of  the  most 
famous  in  the  list  of  Charlemagne's  twelve  peers;  and  their 
exploits  are  the  theme  of  old  romances.  From  the  equally 
doughty  and  unheard-of  exploits  of  these  champions  arose  the 
saying  of  Giving  a  Rowland  for  an  Oliver,  for  giving  a  person  as 
good  as  he  brings. 

98-101.  sword  .  .  .  chose  forth : — This  is  taken  from  the 
chronicler :  "  Then  at  the  Dolphins  sending  by  hir  assignement, 
from  Saint  Katharins  church  of  Fierbois  in  Touraine,  where  she 
never  had  beene,  in  a  secret  place  there  among  old  iron,  ap- 
pointed she  hir  sword  to  be  sought  out  and  brought  hir,  that  with 
five  floure  delices  was  graven  on  both  sides,  wherewith  she  fought, 
and  did  manie  slaughters  by  hir  owne  hands." 

150.  [Exeunt.]  The  matter  of  this  Scene  is  thus  related  by 
Holinshed:  "In  time  of  this  siege  at  Orleance,  French  stories 
saie,  unto  Charles  the  Dolphin  at  Chinon  was  caried  a  yoong 
wench  of  an  eighteene  yeeres  old  called  Joan  Arc,  borne  at 
Domprin  upon  Meuse  in  Loraine.  Of  favour  was  she  counted 
likesome,  of  person  stronglie  made  and  manlie,  of  courage  great, 
hardie,  and  stout  withall,  an  understander  of  counsels  though 
she  were  not  at  them,  great  semblance  of  chastitie  both  of  bodie 
and  behaviour,  the  name  of  Jesus  in  hir  mouth  about  all  hir 
businesses,  humble,  obedient,  and  fasting  diverse  daies  in  the 
weeke.  Unto  the  Dolphin  in  his  gallerie  when  first  she  was 
brought,  and  he  shadowing  himselfe  behind,  setting  other  gaie 

139 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

lords  before  him  to  trie  hir  cunning,  she  pickt  him  out  alone, 
who  thereupon  had  her  to  the  end  of  the  gallerie,  where  she  held 
him  an  houre  in  secret  and  private  talke,  that  of  his  privie 
chamber  was  thought  verie  long,  and  therefore  would  have 
broken  it  off;  but  he  made  them  a  sign  to  let  hir  saie  on." 

Scene  III. 

34.  to  murder  our  dead  lord : — One  of  Gloucester's  charges 
against  Cardinal  Beaufort  was  that,  when  Henry  V,  was  Prince 
of  Wales,  the  Cardinal  plotted  for  his  assassination  in  the  palace 
of  Westminster,  where  the  prince  was  lodged. 

39,  40.  This  be  Damascus,  etc. : — The  allusion  here  is  well  ex- 
plained by  a  passage  in  The  Travels  of  Sir  John  Mandevillc :  "  In 
that  place  where  Damascus  was  founded.  Kayn  sloughe  Abel  his 
brother."  And  Ritson  has  another  of  like  drift  from  the  Fuly- 
chronicon:  "Damascus  is  as  much  as  to  say  shedding  of  blood; 
for  there  Chaym  slew  Abel,  and  hid  him  in  the  sand." 

47.  Blue  coats  to  tawny  coats : — It  appears  from  this,  that 
Gloucester's  servants  wore  blue  coats,  and  Winchester's  tazvny. 
Such  was  the  usual  livery  of  servants  in  the  Poet's  time,  and  long 
before.  Stowe  informs  us  that  on  a  certain  occasion  the  Bishop 
of  London  "  was  attended  on  by  a  goodly  company  of  gentlemen 
in  tawny  coats." 

91.  [Exeunt.]  The  account  of  this  stormy  brawl,  as  given  in 
the  old  chronicles,  runs  substantially  thus :  The  duke  being 
absent  a  while,  the  bishop  caused  the  Tower  to  be  garrisoned,  and 
committed  to  the  care  of  Richard  Woodville,  with  orders  "  to 
admit  no  one  more  powerful  than  himself."  The  duke,  at  his 
return,  demanding  lodgings  in  the  Tower,  and  being  refused, 
forthwith  ordered  the  mayor  to  close  the  gates  of  the  city  against 
the  bishop,  and  to  furnish  him  with  five  hundred  horsemen,  that 
he  might  visit  in  safety  the  young  King  at  Eltham.  The  next 
morning  the  bishop's  retainers  undertook  to  burst  open  the  gate 
on  the  bridge,  and  placed  archers  in  the  houses  on  each  side  of 
the  road,  declaring  that,  as  their  lord  was  excluded  from  the  city; 
so  they  would  keep  the  duke  from  leaving  it. 

Scene  IV. 

95.  Plantagenet: — This  looks  as  if  the  dramatist  thought  Salis- 
bury's name  Plantagenet,  while  in  fact  it  was  Thomas  Montacute. 

140 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Notes 

"  This  earle."  says  Holinshed,  "  was  the  man  at  that  time  by  whose 
wit,  strength,  and  policie,  the  English  name  was  much  terrible  to 
the  French ;  which  of  himselfe  might  both  appoint,  command,  and 
doo  all  things  in  manner  at  his  pleasure ;  for  suerlie  he  was  both 
painefull,  diligent,  and  ready  to  withstand  all  dangerous  chances 
that  were  in  hand,  prompt  in  counsell.  and  of  courage  invincible; 
so  that  in  no  one  man  men  put  more  trust,  nor  any  singular  per- 
son wan  the  harts  so  much  of  all  men." 


ACT  SECOND. 
Scene  I. 

8.  redoubted  Burgundy : — This  duke  succeeded  to  the  title  in 
1419,  at  which  time  his  father  was  murdered.  The  murder  was 
one  of  the  darkest  deeds  done  in  that  land  of  perfidy  and  blood. 
In  pursuance  of  a  special  arrangement  the  victim  went  to  confer 
with  the  Dauphin  at  Montereau.  At  his  coming  he  found  that 
three  barriers,  each  having  a  gate,  had  been,  drawn  across  the 
bridge,  and  was  told  that  the  Dauphin  had  been  waiting  for  him 
more  than  an  hour.  Having  with  twelve  attendants  passed  two 
of  the  gates,  which  were  quickly  locked  behind  him,  he  there  bent 
his  knee  to  the  Dauphin,  who  had  come  forth  to  meet  him;  and, 
while  addressing  him  in  that  posture,  was  struck  in  the  face 
with  an  axe  by  one  of  the  Dauphin's  servants,  and  before  he 
could  make  any  defence,  a  multitude  of  wounds  laid  him  dead  on 
the  ground.  This  rare  piece  of  atrocity  had  the  effect  of  binding 
his  son  Philip  in  close  alliance  with  England,  which  was  further 
strengthened  and  prolonged  by  the  marriage  of  Bedford  with  his 
sister  in  1423.  Her  death,  which  occurred  in  1432,  greatly  loos- 
ened the  bonds  between  her  brother  and  the  regent.  At  length, 
under  the  mediation  of  the  pope,  a  congress  of  English,  French, 
and  Burgundian  ambassadors  was  held  at  Arras  in  1435,  which 
ended  in  a  reconciliation  of  Burgundy  and  the  Dauphin,  who  had 
then  succeeded  to  the  crown  of  France.  The  Poet  represents 
the  detaching  of  Burgundy  from  England  to  have  been  brought 
about  by  Joan  of  Arc ;  for  which  the  only  historical  ground  is 
that  Joan  wrote  a  letter  to  the  duke  urging  upon  him  the  course 
which  he  afterwards  took. 

78.  [They  fly.]  This  retaking  of  Orleans  is  a  fiction  of  the 
dramatist's.    In  fact,  little  advance  was  made  towards  taking  the 

141 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

city  after  the  death  of  Salisbury;  though  (according  to  Holin- 
shed)  Talbot,  Fastolfe,  and  others,  "  caused  bastilles  to  be  made 
round  about  the  citie,  and  left  nothing  unattempted.  that  might 
advance  their  purpose."  Thenceforth  the  siege  was  turned  into 
a  blockade,  but  supplies  and  reinforcements  were  still  received 
into  the  place.  After  Joan  and  her  convoy  entered  the  town, 
which  was  in  April,  1429,  the  English  did  not  stir  from  their  en- 
trenchments ;  and  in  May  they  gave  over  and  withdrew. 

Scene  II. 

38.  Countess  of  Auvergne: — As  Ulrici  has  observed,  the  drama- 
tist required  a  definite  centre  for  the  war  represented  in  this  play, 
which  centre  was  after  all  furnished  historically  by  the  life  and 
death  of  Talbot ;  and  Ulrici  adds :  "  In  order  to  bring  this  centre 
more  prominently  forward,  and  to  throw  more  glory  upon  the 
English  popular  hero,  Shakespeare  has  also  interwoven  the  story 
of  the  Countess  of  Auvergne,  which  the  Chronicles  have  left  unre- 
ported, but  which  popular  tradition  probably  put  into  the  Poet's 
hands.  At  all  events,  the  story  has  quite  the  character  of  a  tra- 
ditional anecdote." 

Scene  III. 

[The  Countess's  castle.]  Hudson  says  that  "of  whole  scenes, 
the  third  in  Act  II.,  between  old  Talbot  and  the  Countess  of 
Auvergne,  is  in  the  conception  and  the  execution  a  genuine  stroke 
of  Shakespearian  art,  full  of  dramatic  spirit,  and  making  a  strong 
point  of  stage  effect  in  the  most  justifiable  sense." 

Scene  IV. 

[The  Temple-garden.]  Hudson  says  that  in  this  Scene  "we 
have  a  concentration  of  true  dramatic  life  issuing  in  a  series  of 
forcible  and  characteristic  flashes,  where  every  word  tells  with 
singular  effect  both  as  a  development  of  present  temner  and  a 
germ  of  many  tragic  events.  And.  on  the  higher  principles  of  art, 
how  fitting  it  was  that  this  outburst  of  smothered  rage,  this  dis- 
tant ominous  grumbling  of  the  tempest,  should  be  followed  by  the 
subdued  and  plaintive  tones  that  issue  from  the  prison  of  the 
aged  Mortimer,  where  we  have  the  very  spring  and  cause  of  the 

142 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Notes 

gathering  storm  discoursed  in  a  strain  of  melancholy  music  and 
a  virtual  sermon  of  revenge  and  slaughter  breathed  from  dying 
lips,"  Herford  calls  this  "  the  most  Shakespearian  scene  of  all, 
which,  in  fact,  links  the  first  part  most  signally  with  the  sequel," 
but  he  adds  that  it  "  cannot  be  conclusively  held  to  have  been  de- 
signed as  such  a  link;  for  the  situation  is  repeated  (with  far  in- 
ferior power)  in  2  Henry  VL,  11.  ii.,  where  Warwick  once  more 
listens  to  the  case  for  York.  It  is  more  plausible  to  suppose  that 
II.  iv.  was  originally  designed  to  give  cohesion  to  the  Talbot  play, 
by  explaining  the  animosity  of  Somerset  to  which  Talbot  owes 
his  fall." 

I.  [Plantagenet.]  This  Richard  Plantagenet  was  son  of  the 
earl  of  Cambridge  who  was  overtaken  in  a  plot  against  the  life 
of  Henry  V.,  and  executed  at  Southampton,  That  earl  was  a 
younger  brother  of  Edward  Duke  of  York,  who  fell  at  the  battle 
of  Agincourt,  and  had  no  child  to  succeed  him.  So  that  on  his 
father's  side  Richard  was  grandson  to  Edmund  of  Langley,  the 
fourth  son  of  Edward  III.  His  mother  was  Anne,  sister  of  Ed- 
mund Mortimer,  Earl  of  March,  and  great-granddaughter  to 
Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence,  who  was  the  second  son  of  Edward  HI. 
In  1425,  the  fourth  year  of  Henry  VL,  Richard  was  restored  to 
the  rights  and  titles  that  had  been  forfeited  by  his  father,  and  was 
made  Duke  of  York.  After  the  death  of  Bedford,  in  1435,  he  suc- 
ceeded him  as  regent  of  France;  was  recalled  two  years  later,  and 
appointed  again  in  1441.  Some  three  years  after,  being  supplanted 
in  that  office  by  his  rival,  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  he  took  the  gov- 
ernment of  Ireland  instead,  from  whence  he  began  to  stretch  forth 
his  hand  to  the  crown. 

10.  [Somerset.]  The  Earl  of  Somerset  at  this  time  was  John 
Beaufort,  grandson  to  John  of  Ghent  by  Catharine  Swynford,  and 
of  course  nephew  to  the  Duke  of  Exeter  and  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester. He  was  afterwards  advanced  to  the  rank  of  duke,  and 
died  in  1432,  leaving  his  title  to  his  brother  Edmund;  his  only 
surviving  child  being  Margaret,  who  was  married  to  the  Earl  of 
Richmond,  and  thence  became  the  mother  of  Henry  VII.  So  that 
there  were  two  Dukes  of  Somerset  in  the  time  of  this  play,  though 
the  author  does  not  distinguish  them;  or  rather  he  prolongs  the 
life  of  John  several  years  beyond  its  actual  date. 

II,  [IVarzvick.]  This  Earl  of  Warwick  was  Richard  Beau- 
champ,  surnamed  the  Good.  He  was  esteemed  the  greatest  of  the 
captains  formed  in  the  great  school  of  Henry  V.  After  the  death 
of  Exeter,  he  was  appointed  governor  of  the  young  King  in  1426. 

143 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

When  York  was  first  recalled  from  the  regency  of  France,  in  1437, 
Warwick  succeeded  him,  with  the  title  of  Lieutenant-general  and 
Governor  of  France,  and  died  at  Rouen  in  May,  1439.  The 
dramatist,  however,  keeps  him  alive  till  the  end  of  the  play,  or  at 
least  does  not  distinguish  him  from  Henry,  who  succeeded  him. 

86.  the  place's  privilege: — It  does  not  appear  that  the  Temple 
had  any  privilege  of  sanctuary  at  this  time,  being  then,  as  now,  the 
residence  of  law  students.  The  author  might  imagine  it  to  have 
derived  some  such  privilege  from  the  Knights  Templars,  or 
Knights  Hospitalers,  both  religious  orders,  its  former  inhabitants. 
It  is  true,  blows  may  have  been  prohibited  by  the  regulations  of 
the  society :  the  author  perhaps  did  not  much  consider  the  matter, 
but  represents  it  as  suited  his  purpose. 

Scene  V. 

[Enter  Mortimer.']  This  Scene  is  at  variance  with  history,  Ed- 
mund Mortimer,  Earl  of  March,  who  was  trusted  and  employed  by 
Henry  V.  throughout  his  reign,  died  of  the  plague  in  his  own  cas- 
tle at  Trim,  in  Ireland,  in  1424,  being  then  only  thirty-two  years 
old.  His  uncle.  Sir  John  Mortimer,  was  indeed  a  prisoner  in  the 
Tower,  and  was  executed  not  long  before  the  Earl  of  March's 
death,  being  charged  with  an  attempt  to  make  his  escape  in  order 
to  stir  up  an  insurrection  in  Wales,  The  dramatist  was  led  into 
error  by  the  popular  historians  of  his  time,  whose  accounts  dis- 
agree. Hall  says  that  the  Earl  of  March  "  was  ever  kepte  in  the 
eourte  under  such  a  keeper  that  he  could  neither  do  nor  attempt 
any  thyng  agaynste  the  kyng  wythout  his  knowledge,  and  died 
without  issue." 

88.  Levied  an  army: — This  is  another  departure  from  history. 
Cambridge  levied  no  army,  but  was  apprehended  at  Southampton 
the  night  before  Henry  sailed  from  that  town  for  France,  on  the 
information  of  this  very  Earl  of  March. 

96.  Thou  art  my  heir,  etc.: — I  acknowledge  you  to  be  my  heir; 
the  legal  consequences  growing  from  this  I  wish  you  to  infer  for 
yourself. 

ACT  THIRD. 
Scene  I. 

[bill]  Gloucester  offers  to  put  up  articles  of  accusation,  called  a 
bill.     This  Parliament  was  held  in  1426  at  Leicester,  though  here 

144 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Notes 

represented  to  have  been  held  in  London.  King  Henry  was  now 
in  the  fifth  year  of  his  age.  In  the  first  Parliament,  which  was 
held  at  London  shortly  after  his  father's  death,  his  mother.  Queen 
Katharine,  brought  the  young  King  from  Windsor  to  the  metropo- 
lis, and  sat  on  the  throne  with  the  infant  in  her  lap. 

Scene  II. 

40.  Pride  here  signifies  haughty  pozver.  So,  afterwards,  in  IV. 
vi.  15  :  "  And  from  the  p)'ide  of  Gallia  rescued  thee."  The  gen- 
eral sentiment  of  the  English  respecting  Joan  of  Arc  is  very  well 
shown  in  that  the  regent,  soon  after  the  coronation  at  Rheims, 
wrote  to  Charles  VIL,  complaining  that  "  he  had,  by  the  allure- 
ment of  a  dcvclish  witch,  taken  upon  him  the  name,  title,  and  dig- 
nitie  of  the  King  of  France,"  and  challenging  him  to  a  trial  of 
the  question  by  private  combat.  Divers  other  choice  vitupera- 
tive epithets  are  stuck  upon  the  heroic  maiden  by  the  old  chroni- 
clers, such  as  "  false  miscreant,"  and  "  a  damnable  sorcerer  sub- 
orned by  Satan." 

114.  [Bedford  dies.]  This  scene  of  feigning,  fighting,  jesting, 
dying,  and  running  away,  is  a  fiction  of  the  dramatist's ;  though 
there  are  several  passages  in  the  war  in  France,  that  might  have 
furnished  a  hint  and  basis  for  it.  The  regent  died  quietly  in  his 
bed  at  Rouen,  September  14,  1435,  and  was  buried  in  the  cathedral. 
It  is  said  that  some  years  after  Louis  XL,  being  urged  to  remove 
his  bones  and  deface  his  monument,  replied,  "  I  will  not  war  with 
the  remains  of  a  prince  who  was  once  a  match  for  your  fathers 
and  mine ;  and  who,  were  he  now  alive,  would  make  the  proudest 
of  us  tremble.  Let  his  ashes  rest  in  peace,  and  may  the  Almighty 
have  mercy  on  his  soul !  " 

Scene  III. 

Ulrici  has  the  following  remarks,  which,  as  he  says,  genius  sub- 
stantially adopts  and  particularly  applies  to  Henry  VI. :  "  Shake- 
speare's deviations  from  actual  history,  more  especially  those  in 
regard  to  chronology,  which  he  might  otherwise  have  avoided, 
were  made  with  a  view  of  giving  a  vivid  representation  of  both  the 
inner  and  the  outer  connection  of  the  greater  whole,  and  of  the 
ideal  character,  the  ethical  significance  of  the  events  in  the  several 
parts.  These  deviations  refer  only  to  points  in  which  he  has 
differed  from  the  chronicles  and  popular  histories  of  his  day,  to 

145 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

the  exclusion  of  all  such  corrections  as  have  been  gained  by  mod- 
ern investigations.  It  was  only  such  sources  that  Shakespeare 
zvisJicd  to  and  could  follow,  owing  to  the  character  of  dramatic 
poetry,  which  is  necessarily  popular;  he  could  not  have  adopted 
the  results  of  learned  historiography  even  though — what  was  not 
generally  the  case— these  had  existed  at  his  time." 


ACT  FOURTH. 
Scene  I. 

I.  tJie  crown  : — The  crowning  of  King  Henry  at  Paris  took 
place  December  17,  143 1.  Concerning  that  event  Holinshed  has 
the  following :  "  To  speake  with  what  honour  he  was  received 
into  the  citie  of  Paris,  what  pageants  were  prepared,  and  how 
richlie  the  gates,  streets,  bridges  on  everie  side  were  hanged  with 
costlie  clothes  of  arras  and  tapestrie,  it  would  be  too  long  a 
processe,  and  therefore  I  doo  heere  pass  it  over  with  silence." 
Nevertheless  the  occasion  was  but  poorly  attended  save  by  for- 
eigners, none  of  the  higher  French  nobility  gracing  it  with  their 
presence. 

Scene  II. 

II.  Lean  famine,  etc.: — This  figure  was  much  used  by  the  old 
poets.  It  occurs  in  the  Prologue  to  Act  I.,  of  Henry  V.,  line  7.  So, 
likewise,  in  the  answer  of  Henry  V.  to  the  citizens  of  Rouen,  when 
he  was  besieging  that  city  in  1419,  as  reported  in  Holinshed  :  "  That 
the  goddesse  of  battell  called  Bellona,  had  three  handmaidens  ever 
of  necessitie  attending  upon  hir,  as  blood,  fire,  and  famine.  And 
whereas  it  laie  in  his  choise  to  use  them  all  three,  yea,  two,  or 
one  of  them,  at  his  pleasure,  he  had  appointed  onlie  the  meekest 
of  those  three  damsels  to  punish  them  of  that  citie,  till  they  were 
brought  to  reason." 

49.  rascal-like : — This  use  of  rascal  is  well  explained  by  a 
passage  from  Verstegan's  Restitution  of  Decayed  Intelligence, 
1605 :  "  As  before  I  have  showed  how  the  ill  names  of  beasts,  in 
their  most  contemptible  state,  are  in  contempt  applied  to  women ; 
so  is  rascall,  being  the  name  of  an  ill-favoured,  leane,  and  worth- 
lesse  deere,  commonly  applied  unto  such  men  as  are  held  of  no 
credit  or  worth,"  The  figure  is  kept  up  by  using  heads  of  steel 
for  lances,  referring  to  the  deer's  horns. 

146 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Notes 

Scene  III. 

46.  'Long  all  of  Somerset: — On  the  death  of  Bedford  in  1435, 
York  succeeded  him  in  the  regency  of  France.  In  1437  he  was 
superseded  by  Warwick,  who  died  about  two  years  after,  and 
York  was  reappointed.  In  this  office  Somerset  took  special  pains 
to  cross  and  thwart  him.  The  effects  of  their  enmity  are  strongly 
stated  by  Holinshed :  "  Although  the  Duke  of  York  was  worthie, 
both  for  birth  and  courage,  of  this  honour  and  preferment,  yet  so 
disdeined  of  the  Duke  of  Summerset,  that  by  all  means  possible 
sought  his  hindrance,  as  one  glad  of  his  losse,  and  sorie  of  his 
well  dooing:  by  reason  whereof,  yer  the  Duke  of  York  could  get 
his  despatch,  Paris  and  diverse  other  of  the  cheefest  places  in 
France  were  gotten  by  the  French  king.  The  Duke  of  York,  per- 
ceiving his  evill  will,  openlie  dissembled  that  which  he  inwardlie 
minded,  either  of  them  working  things  to  the  others  displeasure, 
till,  through  malice  and  division  betweene  them,  at  length  by  mor- 
tal warre  they  were  both  consumed,  with  almost  all  their  whole 
lines  and  offspring." 

Scene  IV. 

13.  bought  and  sold: — This  expression  seems  to  have  been  pro- 
verbial; intimating  that  foul  play  had  been  used.  So  in  King 
John,  V.  iv.  10:     "  Fly,  noble  English,  you  are  bought  and  sold." 

Scene  VII. 

32.  young  John  Talbot's  grave : — The  battle  in  which  the  Tal- 
bots  fell  is  known  in  history  as  the  battle  of  Chatillon,  the  name 
of  a  fortress  not  far  from  Bordeaux,  and  took  place  in  July,  1453. 
The  occasion  was  this :  The  preceding  year,  while  England  was 
torn  with  civil  war,  all  France  having  been  lost,  the  people  of 
Guienne,  impatient  of  French  tyranny,  sent  over  a  deputation, 
offering  to  renew  their  allegiance,  and  soliciting  the  aid  of  an 
army.  The  invitation  was  gladly  accepted,  and  the  command 
given  to  the  veteran  Earl  of  Shrewsbury.  The  old  hero  used  such 
energy  and  despatch,  that  he  took  possession  of  Bordeaux  and  the 
surrounding  country  before  the  French  could  interpose  any  hin- 
drance. The  next  spring,  while  he  was  extending  his  conquests, 
a  French  army  invested  Chatillon,  which  he  had  before  taken  and 
fortified.     Talbot,  hastening  to  its  relief,  surprised  and  defeated  a 

147 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

large  body  of  the  enemy;  whereupon  the  French  retired  into  an 
intrenched  camp  lined  with  three  hundred  pieces  of  cannon.  He 
then  ordered  an  assault,  and  the  enemy  began  to  waver,  when  the 
arrival  of  a  new  body  of  men  turned  the  day  against  him. 

ACT  FIFTH. 
Scene  I. 

29.  a  cardinars  degree : — Beaufort's  preferment  to  this  rank 
having  happened  about  fifteen  years  back,  it  may  seem  strange 
that  Exeter  should  now  for  the  first  time  wonder  at  it  as  some- 
thing new.  This,  however,  is  quite  in  keeping  with  other  things 
here,  such  as  the  alleged  youth  of  the  King,  who  was  at  this  time 
twenty-three  years  old.  The  point  is  thus  stated  by  Coleridge : 
"  The  history  of  our  ancient  kings — the  events  of  their  reigns,  I 
mean — are  like  stars  in  the  sky ;  whatever  the  real  interspaces  may 
be,  and  however  great,  they  seem  close  to  each  other.  The  stars — 
the  events — strike  us  and  remain  in  our  eye,  little  modified  by  the 
difference  of  dates." 

Scene  III. 

I.  [Pucelle.]  The  manner  in  which  the  writer  of  this  play 
delineates  this  Joan  of  Arc  in  Act  I.  has  been  held  to  be  one  of  the 
proofs  that  Shakespeare  was  not  the  author.  "  But,"  observes 
Knight,  "  however  the  dramatist  may  have  represented  this  ex- 
traordinary woman  as  a  sorceress,  and  made  her  accuse  herself  of 
licentious  conduct,  he  has  fallen  very  far  short  of  the  injustice 
of  the  English  chroniclers,  who,  no  doubt,  represented  the  tradi- 
tionary opinions  of  the  English  nation." 

6.  The  monarch  of  the  north  was  Zimimar,  one  of  the  four  prin- 
cipal devils  invoked  by  witches.  The  north  was  supposed  to  be 
the  particular  habitation  of  bad  spirits.  Milton  assembles  the 
rebel  angels  in  the  north. 

30.  [La  Pucelle  is  taken.]  The  capture  of  Joan  occurred  in 
May,  1430,  twelve  years  before  the  event  of  the  first  Scene  of  this 
Act,  and  more  than  five  years  before  the  death  of  Bedford,  and 
while  Burgundy  was  yet  in  alliance  with  the  English.  The  latter 
undertaking  to  reduce  the  city  of  Compeigne,  Joan  went  with  an 
army  to  raise  the  siege.  On  the  march  she  met  and  routed  a  force 
of  Burgundians,  and,  having  taken  Franquet,  their  leader,   had 

148 


KING  HENRY  VL  Notes 

him  beheaded  on  the  spot.  Reinforcements  pouring  in  from  all 
sides,*  she  was  soon  forced  to  retreat,  herself  taking  the  rear- 
guard, and  repeatedly  turning  upon  the  pursuers,  and  keeping 
them  off :  till,  at  last,  her  men  being  broken,  she  was  pulled  from 
her  horfee  by  an  archer,  and,  lying  on  the  ground,  surrendered 
herself.  The  heroine  was  then  conducted  to  John  of  Luxemburg, 
who  some  months  after  sold  her  into  the  hands  of  the  regent. 

62-64.  As  plays,  etc. : — This  comparison,  made  between  things 
sufficiently  unlike,  is  intended  to  express  the  softness  and  delicacy 
of  Lady  Margaret's  beauty,  which  delighted,  but  did  not  dazzle ; 
which  was  bright,  but  gave  no  pain  by  its  lustre.  Sidney,  in  his 
Astrophel  and  Stella,  supports  this  explanation  : — 

"  Lest  if  no  vaile  these  brave  gleams  did  disguise, 
They,  sunlike,  should  more  dazzle  than  delight." 

Scene  IV. 

74.  Machiavcl : — The  character  of  Machiavelli  seems  to  have 
made  so  very  deep  an  impression  on  the  dramatic  writers  of  the 
age,  that  he  is  many  times  introduced  by  them,  notwithstanding 
the  anachronism.  So  in  The  Valiant  Welshman,  1615:  "Read 
Machiavel ;  princes  that  would  aspire  must  mock  at  hell." 

92,93.  consume  to  ashes,  etc.: — Joan  of  Arc  was  burnt,  as  "an 
agent  of  the  devil,"  at  Rouen,  May  30.  1431.  The  inhuman  sen- 
tence was  the  result  of  an  ecclestiastical  trial,  at  which  the  Bishop 
of  Beauvais  presided,  she  having  been  taken  in  his  diocese.  Yet 
the  violence  of  her  enemies  was  not  so  cruel  as  the  neglect  of 
those  who  oug^t  to  have  been  her  friends.  The  matter  is  thus 
stated  by  Lingard:  "If  ever  prince  were  indebted  to  a  subject, 
Charles  VIL  was  indebted  to  Joan  of  Arc.  She  had  dispelled  the 
terror  with  which  success  had  invested  the  English  arms,  had 
reanimated  the  courage  of  the  French  soldiery,  and  had  firmly 
established  the  King  on  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  Yet,  from 
the  moment  of  her  captivity  she  appears  to  have  been  forgotten. 
We  read  not  of  any  sum  offered  for  her  ransom,  or  attempt  made 
to  alleviate  the  rigour  of  her  confinement,  or  notice  taken  of  her 
trial  and  execution." 

175.  a  solemn  peace: — This  peace,  which  was  in  reality  but  a 
truce,  was  negotiated  by  Suffolk,  who  had  been  sent  as  ambassador 
for  that  purpose,  an  instrument  having  been  first  signed  by  the 
King  and  approved  by  the  Parliament,  authorizing  <him  to  conduct 

149 


Notes  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

the  treaty  to  the  best  of  his  abiHties,  and  pardoning  beforehand 
every  error  of  judgement  into  which  he  might  fall.  The  meeting 
of  ambassadors  was  at  Tours  in  February,  1444;  where  many 
things  were  moved  for  a  final  peace,  but  the  best  they  could  come 
to  was  a  truce  for  eighteen  months. 

[Scene  V. 

25-29.  So  should  I  give,  etc. : — "  Although  this  mariage,"  says 
Holinshed,  "  pleased  the  King  and  diverse  of  his  councell,  yet 
Humfrie  Duke  of  Glocester.  protector  of  the  realme,  was  much 
against  it,  alledging  that  it  should  be  both  contrarie  to  the  lawes 
of  God,  and  dishonourable  to  the  prince,  if  he  should  breake  that 
promise  and  contract  of  mariage,  made  by  ambassadours  suffi- 
ciently instructed  thereto,  with  the  daughter  of  the  Earle  of 
Arminacke,  upon  conditions  both  to  him  and  his  realme  as  much 
profitable  as  honourable.  But  the  duke's  words  could  not  be 
heard,  for  the  earles  dooings  were  onelie  liked  and  allowed." 

103.  Suffolk  .  .  .  goes: — Suffolk  set  forth  on  this  expedi- 
tion in  October.  1444.  Thus  stands  the  account  in  Holinshed: 
"  The  Earle  of  Sufifolke  was  made  Marquesse  of  Suffolke,  which 
marquesse,  with  his  wife  and  manie  honourable  personages  of  men 
and  women,  richlie  adorned  both  with  apparell  and  jewels,  having 
with  them  manie  costlie  chariots  and  gorgeous  horslitters,  sailed 
into  France  for  the  conveiance  of  the  nominated  queene  into  the 
realme  of  England.  For  King  Reiner,  hir  father,  for  all  his  long 
stile,  had  too  short  a  pursse  to  send  his  daughter  honourablit  to 
the  King  hir  spouse." 


150 


KING  HENRY  VI.  Questions 


Questions  on  1  Henry  VL 


1.  What  are  some  of  the  contemporary  allusions  to  this  play 
that  help  to  establish  its  date? 

2.  What  are  some  of  the  arguments  against  the  sole  Shake- 
spearian authorship  of  the  play  ? 

3.  Who  have  been  suggested  as  collaborators  ? 

ACT  FIRST. 

4.  What  is  there  un-Shakespearian  about  the  opening  lines  of 
the  play? 

5.  How  are  events  of  the  preceding  play,  Henry  V .,  continued 
in  this  one? 

6.  Criticise  the  manner  in  which  the  news  brought  by  the  mes- 
sengers is  delivered.    Is  it  compatible  with  reality? 

7.  What  is  the  situation  presented  in  the  first  Scene?  What 
offices  are  held  respectively  by  Bedford  and  Gloucester?  What 
threat  is  made  by  Winchester? 

8.  What  is  the  condition  of  the  French  fortunes  when  Joan  la 
Pucelle  appears? 

9.  What  traits  of  character  are  here  attributed  to  her  that  are 
at  variance  with  the  Joan  of  tradition  ? 

10.  Indicate  the  effect  of  Sc.  ii.  In  what  way  does  it  contribute 
to  the  development  of  the  plot?  How  does  it  differ  from  the  ac- 
count given  by  the  old  chroniclers  ? 

11.  From  Sc.  iv.  what  do  you  gather  of  Talbot's  reputation? 
What  traits  of  character  does  he  display  ? 

12.  What  is  there  un-Shakespearian  about  the  battle-scene? 

13.  What  effect  does  the  dramatist  wish  to  produce  by  bringing 
Joan  into  personal  conflict  with  Talbot? 

14.  What  was  the  contemporaneous  opinion  of  the  English  con- 
cerning the  secret  of  Joan's  military  success? 

151 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 
ACT  SECOND. 

15.  Are  the  events  presented  in  Sc.  i.  historically  true? 

16.  How  does  the  episode  of  the  Countess  of  Auvergne  (Sc.  ii.) 
illustrate  the  weak  side  of  Talbot's  nature? 

17.  Comment  on  the  dramatic  effectiveness  of  Sc.  iii.  Is  the 
matter  reported  in  the  chronicles?  Has  it  any  literary  precedent? 
Is  the  plot  in  any  way  assisted  by  it? 

18.  Sc.  iv.  has  been  regarded  of  undoubted  Shakespearian 
authorship.    What  do  you  see  in  it  to  support  the  view  ? 

19.  What  was  the  point  of  dispute  between  Plantagenet  and 
Somerset?  Where  has  Shakespeare  presented  a  picture  of  the 
condemnation  of  Richard  Earl  of  Cambridge? 

20.  Who  was  the  Mortimer  presented  in  Sc.  v.  ?  What  previous 
plays  have  dealt  with  him? 

21.  Considered  as  an  episode,  what  is  the  effect  of  Sc.  v.  ?  Con- 
sidered structurally,  is  this  Scene  a  necessary  part  of  the  present 
play?  Is  its  value  more  apparent  from  a  consideration  of  the 
series  of  plays  dealing  with  the  Henrys? 

22.  What  does  Sc.  v.  contribute  to  the  enveloping  atmosphere  of 
Henry  V 1. 1 

ACT   THIRD. 

23.  What  is  the  dramatic  purpose  of  the  quarrel  between  Win- 
chester and  Gloucester  in  Sc.  i.?  In  this  Scene  how  are  the  for- 
tunes of  Plantagenet  advanced? 

24.  In  the  speech  of  Exeter  with  which  the  Scene  closes  what  is 
foreshadowed  ? 

25.  Was  the  taking  of  Rouen  by  the  French  through  strategy 
an  historic  fact? 

26.  Explain  Joan's  taunt  (ii.  44)  that  the  corn  v^sls  full  of  darnel. 

27.  What  is  lacking  in  the  presentation  of  the  cowardice  of  Sir 
John  Fastolfe  to  support  the  belief  that  he  is  Shakespeare's  crea- 
tion? 

28.  What  is  Joan's  status  among  the  French  at  the  point  of  the 
story  marked  by  Sc.  iii.  ? 

29.  Is  her  persuasion  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  convincing? 
What  point  of  the  rising  action  does  this  Scene  mark? 

30.  Show  what  is  effected  by  Sc.  iv. 

152 


KING  HENRY  VI.  .    Questions 

ACT   FOURTH. 

31.  How  is  the  crowning  of  Henry  in  Sc.  i.  shown  to  be  a  mere 
travesty  ? 

32.  Show  how  Sc.  i.  is  managed  to  secure  a  cumulative  effect. 
What  does  the  entrance  of  Gloucester  into  the  dispute  (line  123) 
serve  to  recall  so  that  all  the  elements  of  internal  strife  confront- 
ing Henry  are  brought  to  a  focus  in  the  Scene? 

SS.  Is  youth  the  only  excuse  for  the  King's  inadequacy? 

34.  What  resemblance  do  you  note  between  Talbot's  speech  be- 
fore Bordeaux,  at  the  beginning  of  Sc.  ii.,  and  that  of  Henry  V. 
before  Harfleur?  What  bearing  may  this  have  upon  the  question 
of  the  genuineness  of  the  passage? 

35.  Support  by  reasons  your  belief,  if  so  you  judge  them,  that 
lines  42-56  are  Shakespearian.  Comment  on  the  elaborate  figure 
here  used.    Do  you  find  many  such  in  this  play? 

36.  How  do  Scs.  iii.  and  iv.  show  that  the  cause  of  England  is 
more  jeopardized  by  the  strife  among  her  nobles  than  by  the 
power  of  France? 

Sy.  Explain  the  allusion  of  Sir  William  Lucy  (iii.  47)  to  the 
vulture  of  sedition. 

38.  Taking  Scs.  vi.  and  vii.  as  examples,  may  we  deduce  a  pos- 
sible law  of  Shakespeare's  earlier  aesthetic  creed  concerning  the 
harmony  of  sentiment  and  versification?  Consider  this  in  connec- 
tion with  the  comedies  of  this  approximate  date — Love's  Labour's 
Lost,  Comedy  of  Errors,  and  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. 

39.  What  effect  has  the  death  of  Talbot  on  the  English  cause  in 
France? 

40.  What  temper  as  conquerors  is  displayed  by  the  French? 

ACT  FIFTH. 

41.  What  defect  in  the  King  does  Sc.  i.  reveal  that  may  be 
taken  as  the  reason  of  his  failure  in  France?  What  is  his  reply 
when  marriage  is  proposed? 

42.  To  what  position  does  Winchester  attain?  How  did  he 
secure  his  preferment?  What  does  his  closing  speech  foreshadow? 

43.  Why  is  the  final  triumph  of  the  English  depicted  from  the 
French  point  of  view  ? 

44.  Does  Sc.  iii.  present  a  new  phase  of  Joan's  spiritual  develop- 

153 


Questions    .  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

ment?     State  what  it  is  and  what  the  dramatist  intends  to  convey 
thereby. 

45.  Considering  Henry  VI.  as  a  unit,  does  Margaret  contribute 
anything  to  the  action?  How  does  she  serve  as  a  link  between 
this  and  the  succeeding  parts  of  the  trilogy? 

46.  How  does  the  Shepherd  of  Sc.  iv.  differ  from  the  portraits 
of  countrymen  that  Shakespeare  has  elsewhere  furnished?  What 
trick  of  speech  bears  some  resemblance  to  one  frequently  em- 
ployed by  him? 

47.  Does  Joan  in  Sc.  iv.  exhibit  any  of  the  traits  of  those  who 
have  accomplished  considerable  through  belief  in  a  supernatural 
assistance,  and  who  seek  to  maintain  their  rank  and  reputation 
after  they  have  felt  the  power  withdrawn  ? 

48.  In  the  presentation  of  this  character  does  the  play  follow 
the  belief  of  the  English  regarding  the  real  character  of  Joan,  as 
presented  by  Hall  and  HoHnshed? 

49.  State  the  reason  why  this  character  is  so  repellent  to  mod- 
ern readers. 

50.  Indicate  the  situation  that  the  final  Scene  of  this  play  pro- 
poses for  the  action  of  Part  II.  of  the  trilogy. 

For  general  questions  see  end  of  3  Henry  VI. 


IS4 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALlhUHNlA-LUi    mimuc 


L  009  978  335  9 


